Secret World
by alienated-alien
Summary: Sequel to 'In Your Eyes': Jim huffed, ducking back underneath the blanket, "Wake me when you found out what's wrong with me." "Jim-" "Goodnight!"
1. Chapter 1: This Sun Sheltered Place

Hey guys!

Uhm... well, this is the Sequel to my story 'In Your Eyes'. This thing was born because... well, I had a weird idea and because my friend and I have been roleplaying as Spock and Kirk a lot, the idea grew until I couldn't stop myself anymore from writing it.

Also, I wanted to clear up something. I got a comment concerning the colour of the Vulcan sky. Guys, I know it's reddish/orange in the original series :) It's just that in the new movie, in some scenes, when it's visible, it looks bluish white, so I went with that.

Alrightey. Enjoy, it's unbetaed :D

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 1: this sun sheltered place

_A soft, mossy ground greeted the bare soles of his feet, enveloping his every step with a gentle embrace, before releasing him to take the next. His eyes trailed over the large, flat stones framing the mossy trail and the tiny waneti blossoms that littered the ground. _

_Jim smiled, hearing the manifestation of their bond's anchor call for him, telling him to hurry. Blue, green and vermillion drops of paint fell from the black, star-littered sky, the colours glowing brightly where they splashed onto the ground and Jim laughed as his body was slowly littered with bright, luminescent dots. _

_In the distance, near the large, sturdy pearl-tree, he saw Spock's silhouette, standing upon one of the flat boulders littering their mindscape. Jim started to run, laughter tumbling from his mouth. Spock turned around, eyes bright and welcoming as Jim threw himself into his arms. _

"_I've missed this," Jim mumbled into Spock's neck._

"_I apologise, t'hy'la, for neglecting your needs for so long…"_

"_Oh shut up, Spock, it's not like I had the time either," Jim sighed contently, "You know… we should get ourselves a sehlat. Since your Mom insisted on keeping I-Chaya, because she, and I quote, can't hug her little Spock and Jim everyday anymore and I-Chaya is the next best thing."_

"_Father has told me that Mother has been behaving rather illogical after we left. She has taken on talking to I-Chaya as if he was capable of understanding and answering her," Spock settled them down on the flat stone, it was warm, radiating heat as if it had been exposed to the sun for hours. _

_Jim chuckled, "I bet Sarek is having a hard time getting her to stop, huh?"_

"_Indeed."_

"_Spock, we talked about this."_

"_I have never stopped you from cursing either, Jim. I will not stop using a perfectly acceptable word, simply because you insist that I do so."_

"_You are such an ass sometimes. I can feel you laughing, this is our mindscape. I know you use the word excessively just to rile me up, you silly elf."_

"_I am doing no such thing," Spock answered smoothly, a large drop of blue paint splashing down onto his nose and he was going cross-eyed when he tried to look at it._

_Another chuckle tumbled out of Jim's mouth and he gently wiped the blue away, kissing the Vulcan's nose, feeling the burst of warmth that was Spock's pleasure at the mental caress. "I'll never get used to this. Everytime we're here it looks different in one way or another. The only thing that never changes is our anchor... Now... about that sehlat..?"_

"_We will see, Jim."_

"_We both know I'll win in the end."_

_Spock nodded, his amusement filling the air around them, arms wrapping around Jim and pulling him close, bodies meshing together, the droplets of paint smearing across their naked skin, gluing them to one another, melting into each other. The air pulsed with warmth, a rhythm that was only felt and never heard, like a heart, beating through the earthy ground beneath them. Jim smiled and let his eyes slide closed with a content sigh…_

Jim's eyes opened slowly, squinting into the brightness that had engulfed the bedroom. The pillow beneath his head had vanished. Instead his cheek rested against a cool torso, the muscles twitching slightly as the ribcage rose and fell with every breath his living pillow took. A small smile spread across his face as he detected Spock's sleepy, slightly sweaty scent and the soft purr that echoed through the room on every exhale. A strong arm was wrapped around his back and long fingers splayed across his side, the fingertips cool against his skin.

Spock must be exhausted if he had not woken up yet. Usually, as soon as one of them slid out of their shared dreamscape, the other would wake up alongside. It could be a little annoying, considering that Jim needed a little more sleep than Spock and generally was not a morning person at all.

Spock had come home late last night. After graduating from the Vulcan Academy two months prior he had followed his Father's footsteps into politics.

Four years ago, a year after they had been officially married, Earth had finally discovered Warp. Eight months ago, Vulcan had initiated a tentative First Contact and the High Council was now in the process of discussing the further proceedings. And, of course like everything upon Vulcan, it would take a while until a final decision would be reached.

So, while Spock was busy with whatever political nonsense Earth came up with, Jim worked hard on getting his peers at the Academy to acknowledge his intelligence. Three years ago, the educational system had finally been updated to the point where non-Vulcans were allowed to attend any school they wanted, if they managed to pass the entrance exam. It was not a perfect solution, but at least Jim had had the satisfaction of stunning the Vulcan Academy's director by acing the test.

Jim snuggled closer into his husband's side, chuckling quietly when the Vulcan-hybrid's silent purring became louder. Since they had moved out into their own house, they had had barely had the time to enjoy their new found togetherness. Additionally, Spock had treated him like a raw egg after he had come down with an aggressive strain of the Chloridian Flu. Of course, Spock had not been the only one to act like he was going to die if he as much as moved a finger, no about everyone in the vicinity had decided that Jim could not even feed himself. Getting spoon-fed by your Father-in-Law was probably the most awkward thing that had ever happened in Jim's life.

Not only had he been forced to endure everyone's behaving like a Mother hen, no, because of Jim's pathetic excuse for an immune-system, the Flu had dragged him down into a spiral of nausea and hallucination-like dreams that affected Spock almost as much as himself. And since that was not enough, Jim had turned out to be allergic to the medication that was usually administered in cases of Chloridian Flu. Which meant that Bones had spent two days trying to create another medicine that did not make Jim swell up like a pink grapefruit.

So now, three weeks after he had been continuously been treated like a baby for almost a month, he had finally put his foot down and told Spock that he was fine and that he would never touch the kitchen again. Because it did not seem to matter how old Spock was, the kitchen and the hybrid seemed to be natural enemies. The Vulcan-hybrid was actually talented enough to burn water.

Jim sighed, breathing in deeply before sitting up. Spock huffed quietly, rolling onto his side and curling around Jim slightly. He did not, however, wake. The morning sun shone through the large window-pane that made up the left wall of their bedroom, tainting the entire room in bright, orange light. The see-through, white curtains flapped lazily and Jim could hear the first birds singing outside.

Jim tugged the blanket higher around his naked body, eyes half-lidded as he enjoyed the quiet morning, one hand brushing through Spock's thick hair.

"Jim...?" Spock's voice was gruff and scratchy from disuse.

He looked down at his husband, smiling brightly, "Good morning, Spock.

Spock groaned softly, wrapping his arms around Jim's waist and burying his face in Jim's side, "Why are you not sleeping, Jim?"

"Because I'm wide awake and I'm not the one who neglected to tell his husband that he needed to sleep instead of letting said husband persuade him to have sex in three different rooms, including the kitchen," Jim tugged on the tip of Spock's left ear, earning a disgruntled whine, "Stop being such a big baby, I'm still in bed aren't I?"

"I was not aware that I was this tired... please stop pulling at my ear, Jim, it is unpleasant."

Sleepy, grumpy Vulcan was probably one the most hilarious states Spock could be in. _The_ most hilarious state Spock had ever been in was the sickly, thumb-sucking Vulcan state and that one was not only hilarious, but downright scary.

"I do not suck my thumb, Jim."

"Stop reading my thoughts when I'm ruminating, Spock," Jim leaned down and kissed the top of Spock's head, "And you totally do. I have pictures. You always suck your thumb when you're sick or really tired. Where else did you think the weird marks on your thumb came from? Me? As much as I love your fingers, I don't bite them that hard."

Spock grumbled and Jim could watch his ears turn a delicious shade of peppermint green.

Jim bit his lip to stop himself from laughing but judging from the annoyance that filtered into their bond from Spock's side he was not doing a very good job. The Vulcan rolled away from him and towards the other edge of the bed, pulling one of the blankets over his head.

"Oh, come on, Spock!" Jim started to tug at the duvet, giving up when the hybrid refused to budge, "Fine. _Fine_, I'll go take a shower. If you decide to act your age again, feel free to join me."

Spock did not join him. In fact, the Vulcan's side of the bond was sleepily silent the entire time Jim was in the shower, not even responding to the gentle prodding he kept delivering to it.

When Jim returned into the bedroom, Spock was fast asleep and had managed to wrap himself in every blanket he could reach. Shaking his head, Jim dried himself off, dropping the towel to the ground and slipping into one of Spock's dressing gowns to walk downstairs into the kitchen. Maybe Spock would be a little more inclined to wake up after he brought him breakfast.

The house was silent and there was a trail of clothing leading from the front door through the hallway, the living-room, into the kitchen. Jim gathered the clothes up throwing them onto the couch and wandered into the kitchen. He activated the radio, grinning when the deep, thumping rhythm of a drum filled the air, joined by guitars and a bright, woman's voice.

Humming, he started to prepare breakfast, loading everything onto a tray to carry it back upstairs.

Spock had sprawled out across the bed, his back bared, the pale expanse of skin mottled with scratch-marks and a tiny bruise where Jim had decided to suck the knob of Spock's vertebrae, just below the base of his neck. Jim set the tray down on the nightstand and reached out to brush his knuckles against Spock's cheek, "T'hy'la, wake up, I made you breakfast."

One of Spock's eyes opened, the chocolate iris darkened by sleep, "Hm?"

"Sit up," Jim tried to tug the heavy Vulcan-hybrid into a sitting position, but Spock had apparently one of his childish moments and simply let himself fall limp, "Spock, please, I made breakfast, can't you just cooperate for a second and sit your lazy Vulcan-ass up?"

Finally, his husband decided that he had been tortured enough and sat up with a tiny yawn, accepting the glass of Kray-juice Jim held out towards him, "Thank you, Jim."

Jim nodded, grabbing the tray and setting it down on the bed, "Say, what have you been doing yesterday that you were home so late?"

"We were discussing whether or not it will be necessary to send an ambassador down to Earth at the current time," Spock reached out to grab a toast, "Terra has been making fast progress and we believe they will send their first star ship into space soon."

"That's... fantastic," Jim said, nibbling on a slice of fruit.

"I am also considering... becoming an Ambassador."

Jim almost choked on the fruit, "What?"

"Considering, Jim," Spock lifted an eyebrow, "I apologise if I have shocked you with this..."

"Damn right that shocked me! Why would you want to become an Ambassador?"

"Because I am curious. Our cultures are so different from one another, I simply wish to experience what it is like on Earth."

Jim sighed, "That would mean that we'd be moving between Earth and Vulcan a lot, right?"

"I do not think so. Earth is still not advanced enough to cause intergalactic problems," Spock leaned forward to kiss the scar on Jim's shoulder, where he had marked him all those years ago, "Jim, you do not have to give into my whims simply because we are bonded."

"Oh, I know that, Spock," Jim laughed, "But... I can't keep evading my past. Besides, what do I have to be afraid of? My family is here, on Vulcan and I won't let anyone take that away from me. If I meet my... Mother down on Earth then so be it. I think I'd love to see her face when she finds out what happened to her child."

"Will she not be happy? We do not know what they have been thinking all those years that you spend with us. You might have been declared dead."

Jim sighed, playing with the hem of Spock's dressing gown. He did not know what happened back on Earth after he had been kidnapped. To be honest, he had never even tried to find out. But now... now he wondered what Sam was doing. If his Mother was still with that asshole Frank and, if she was, had he ever hurt her too?

"Jim?"

He looked up at his husband, smiling lopsidedly, "Sorry, I spaced out for a moment... Seriously, Spock, I don't know what my... what they will do when I suddenly appear on their doorstep. What am I even going to say? 'Hey, Mom, your long-lost son is back! Sorry I didn't try to contact you sooner, I was busy saving my best friend, who is now my husband, from dying because of a serious bout of blue balls!'. Yeah, that will go over really well."

Spock shook his head and nuzzled his nose against Jim's cheek, "You do not have to force yourself into something you do not wish to do, Jim. All I am trying to say is, there might be someone who genuinely missed you all those years you have been with me."

Jim nodded slowly, "Yeah... I'll think about it, Spock. I really don't want to talk about things like that this early in the morning."

He placed the tray back onto the nightstand, turning his gaze to meet Spock's over his shoulder, "Are you going to take a shower now?"

The Vulcan-hybrid's mouth curled into a miniscule smirk, "I do not believe it would be prudent to shower now."

"Why not?"

Spock scooted closer, pulling Jim towards him by the lapels of the dressing gown, "Because I do not see a reason why I should clean myself right now..."

"Spock...," Jim drawled, grinning brightly, "You're a horny bastard sometimes."

"Incorrect, my parents have been married before I was conceived," Spock said smoothly, undressing Jim with a swift move and flying the gown from the bed.

Jim laughed, grabbing Spock's shoulders and pushing the Vulcan-hybrid onto his back. Spock blinked at him in clear surprise, before relaxing beneath him when Jim latched his mouth onto the pulse-point at the side of the Vulcan's throat.

He wriggled until he was straddling his husband's hips, his perineum rubbing over Spock's cock as he grinded down against the hard flesh. Spock bucked upwards, his arms rising to wrap around Jim's waist, mouth open in a silent groan. Jim detached himself from the Vulcan's neck and slotted their lips together, pushing his tongue into the cool cavern beyond Spock's teeth.

A cold hand took Jim's, palms sliding together clumsily as their bond flared over. Jim shimmied down, ignoring the whine escaping Spock's mouth as their lips parted, before he licked a thick stripe up the underside of the Vulcan's member and then engulfed the thick head with his mouth.

Spock keened quietly, one hand flying to grasp Jim's golden mop of hair, not gripping tightly enough to hurt, a notion that Jim rewarded by tonguing between the two ridges seated beneath the spongy head.

"Jim. I need you."

Jim looked up letting the dick slide out from between his lips to grin at his husband. He crawled back up, reaching behind himself to grip the throbbing length and align it with his tight opening. Keeping his eyes locked with Spock's he slowly sank down.

Jim moaned, eyes sliding shut as Spock bottomed out inside him and the Vulcan reached out to wrap his hands around Jim's protruding hipbones, breathing heavily as Jim rocked back and forth lazily, pressed tightly to Spock's body, not willing to part yet. His breathing hitched and Jim leaned down to nip at Spock's mouth, trailing kisses over his jaw and finally wrapped his lips around the tip of Spock's ear to bite down on it gently.

Spock's hips jerked, burying the thick cock deeper into Jim and rubbing roughly across Jim's prostate.

Seconds later, they were rocking into each other desperately, lips meshed together, parted slightly as they panted. Spock's long-fingered hand wrapped around Jim's member, thumb pressing down underneath the reddened head and with a small flick, his nail grated across the sensitive nerves, sending Jim over the edge. Jim ground down, head thrown back, neck exposed as he felt Spock climax inside of him.

Jim breathed out heavily, collapsing in a sweaty, content heap upon the Vulcan.

For a while, the room was merely filled with their heavy panting and the screaming of the birds. Jim let his body cool down, relishing in the fast thumping of Spock's heart beneath him and listening to the raspy hiss as Spock filled his lungs with air. One of Spock's hands stroked down his spine, the palm smoothing over the knobbly vertebrae as if counting the various bony coves that rose beneath the skin.

Finally, Jim decided to break the silence, "Well, that was... unexpected."

"Indeed."

"Why did you not stop me from showering," Jim mumbled into Spock's shoulder, "I could have saved a lot of hot water, you know?"

"I doubt we will have trouble paying the bill, Jim."

"That's not the point," Jim huffed, pressing a light kiss to Spock's collarbone, "The point is that I have to stand up again to shower because of you."

"This time however, I will accompany you," Spock said, rubbing his cheek against the top of Jim's head, reminding Jim of a large cat.

"Was this some kind of ploy to get me to agree to your silly plan to become an Ambassador?"

"No, Jim. I simply wanted to have intercourse, nothing more."

"Ah."

"Indeed."

"Spock, would you stop using that word? We have talked about this so many times already, why do you insist on doing that? You just love to rile me up, don't you?"

"Indeed."

"One more 'indeed' and there will be no sex for a month, Mister."

"I doubt you will be able to keep this threat, Jim."

"You wanna find out?"

"...Not particularly."

"Thought so."

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><p>Yeah, not really much action... yet :3<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: The Face Behind The Face

I am officially a moron. That's exactly why I usually do not write two stories at the same time.

I actually FORGOT to post this chapter. It's been finished for three days and I simply forgot. D: Sorry guys.

Adrianna: Why, thank you, you're too kind :)

Kim: Hehe, thanks!

: What an odd name, I've been trying to pick it apart for a while now... anyway! Thank you for reviewing!

ShayLove: Awww, thank you! I've been wondering how to tell you that there's a sequel already, but since you're reviewing anonymously, I couldn't PM you :) Glad you found Secret World on your own though!

Talltree-san: Ack, I had to edit because I forgot to respond to your review. Yaiy for body paint! Spock's secretly a toddler on the inside, I always knew that. *nods* We will find out if they go to Earth or not ;) Don't worry.

Oookay... so, there will probably be typos, I tried to read through it, but I barely ever find my errors while reading on the screen :/. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 2: the face behind the face

6.3 weeks after their small discussion concerning Spock's wish of becoming an Ambassador, they had fallen into a sort of domesticity. Jim cooked, Spock would iron their clothes. Jim tended to the garden, Spock would do the laundry. Truly, all that was missing now was a pet and the statistical 2.5 children.

It was 10.12 am and Spock just returned into their shared bedroom after taking a shower, when Jim sat up with a groan, a pillow in his arms and pressed tightly to his stomach. Spock lifted an eyebrow as he dressed himself, "Maybe you should have not eaten the Kray-jam alongside the cucumber bread, Jim."

The younger man simply whined, curling forward, face paling rapidly, "Oh fuck, I think I'm going to-!"

A mere moment later, Jim had thrown himself onto his stomach, head dangling over the edge of their shared bed as he vomited. Spock crawled onto the bed beside Jim, placing his hand between the trembling shoulder-blades, averting his gaze as Jim heaved. Spock waited patiently as Jim evacuated his gastric system through his mouth, before helping his husband sit up, "Jim, maybe we should call Leonard, this-"

"No, I'm fine now," Jim wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "Fuck, I'm so sorry you had to see that."

"Jim, we have been bonded long enough for me to have become used to these kinds of things," Spock reached out to brush the wayward lock of hair from Jim's forehead, "I am still of the opinion that we should call Doctor McCoy."

"But we won't. I'm fine, Spock, it was probably just the combination of Kray-jam and cucumber-bread, just like you said... I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I ate that," Jim laughed, rubbing his stomach as it continued to twinge with nausea.

Spock sighed and gently placed the knuckles of his left hand against Jim's cheek, "You are warmer than usual, Jim."

"Yeah, well, I just threw up. That's probably the reason why."

"Jim..."

"Spock, would you please stop worrying? I'm fine."

"The last time you have told me you are 'fine', I found you lying on the bottom of the staircase 35.6 minutes later after you had fainted due to a high fever," Spock crossed his arms in front of his chest, "And I distinctly remember the one time when you broke your leg and tried to assure me it was merely sprained."

Jim sighed heavily, "Alright, alright! But we're still not going to call, Bones. Let's wait a few hours and if I feel worse, you'll know anyway. Then you can call the Doctor."

"Thank you, Jim."

Nodding, he slipped out of the bed, staggering into the bathroom to retrieve a towel and clean up the mess he had made on the bedroom floor.

Spock tugged the towel out of his hand before he had a chance to kneel down however, "Let me."

Jim sighed, "Thank you... I'm going to take a shower and brush my teeth, alright?"

Spock nodded, watching his husband leave to enter the bathroom. He waited a few minutes, listening as the water was turned on, before continuing to mop up the expelled food. When he had reached the towels absorbency limit, he carried it towards the laundry chute and threw it in, before making his way to the bathroom to retrieve paper towels and cleaning agent.

By the time he had polished the floor and opened the windows, Jim had finished his shower and was now in the process of dressing himself, hopping through the room as he struggled with his socks, like every morning. Spock shook his head, closing the window again as he kept an eye on his clumsy husband. Finally, Jim had managed to clothe himself without any further mishaps and now stood, grinning brightly, in front of Spock, "Alright. When do we need to leave to meet Amanda again?"

"In 14.3 minutes, Jim."

"Gosh, we really need to get an alarm clock...," Jim grumbled and tugged at the hem of his shirt to straighten it out, "You think Sarek will be there for lunch?"

"I see no reason why my Father should not be there. As far as I am informed, no meeting has been scheduled at the council."

"Yeah, well, it explains why you're still at home, then," Jim grinned, stepping closing to wrap his arms around Spock's waist and rock forward onto his tiptoes to kiss him, but only managing to smack his lips against Spock's chin, "You're way too tall, Mister Spock, a little help would be appreciated, I need my good-morning-kiss."

Spock briefly looked up at the ceiling in an approximation of an eye-roll, before lifting Jim up and pressing a soft kiss to his husband's lips. The Human snickered quietly, pulling back to nuzzle their noses together in something Spock had come to know was called an 'Eskimo kiss'. Spock huffed out something that might have been a chuckle, before setting Jim back onto his feet, "Was this satisfactory, Jim?"

"Very much," Jim laughed and skipped out of the room, "Well, hurry up, Spock! We need to be on time, or she won't let us have any of the _prusah kisan_!"

"You are aware that my Mother merely says things like this, because she is aware that you truly believe she would carry out her threat?"

"What? Could you hurry up already? I'm hungry!"

Spock shook his head. Jim had vomited mere minutes ago and was hungry. The Human astounded him time and time again, even though they had been in each other's company almost their entire life. Without lingering any long, Spock left the bedroom to follow Jim downstairs. The younger man was waiting impatiently for him, already wearing his shoes. Spock quickly slipped into his own shoes, hooking his index- and middle finger around Jim's, before opening the door, locking it behind them, "Do you wish to drive?"

"Yeah," Jim snatched the key from his hand, grinning as he slid onto the driver's seat, waiting until Spock had sat down beside him, before starting the vehicle.

"So... about you becoming an Ambassador... are you still considering it?"

"Indeed I am."

"Spock."

"Yes, Jim?"

"What did I tell you?"

"' One more 'indeed' and there will be no sex for a month, Mister'."

"You did not need to make you voice sound so squeaky, smartass," Jim grumbled as he drove around the next corner, "But I'm proud of you for remembering what I told you. Which means, you have been anticipating the outcome. And that means; no sex for a month, Mister Spock."

Spock opened his mouth to answer, but instead, he pried the bond between them open and let a picture of Jim lying beneath him, spread out and head thrown back in ecstasy, filter through their connection. Jim cursed, the car swerving towards the side for a second, before he managed to return to the middle of the lane, "Spock! I could have killed us both!"

"Indeed."

"Oh, you stupid, pointy-eared elf! Why can't you just stop riling me up for once? I'm trying to be serious here and you just keep... _guh_! Do I mean so little to you that you can't just stop using that word for my sake? You can use 'indeed' when you're with your friends at the council but I hereby ban it from being said in my vicinity!"

Spock grit his teeth, "May I just say that I have been enduring your frequent insults and constant need to know exactly where I am for the past weeks without complaining even once? You are currently behaving rather illogical. It is a simple word and you keep acting as if I have been unfaithful to you or something equally despicable. I do believe that I deserve better than being mistrusted by my own bondmate, especially if said mistrust is based upon nothing."

Jim gaped at him, before turning back to stare out of the windshield, hands gripping the wheel tighter than necessary. Silence permeated the interior of the car and Spock directed his gaze out of the window beside his seat. Jim had slammed the door between their minds shut, but, due to the depth of their connection, Spock was still able to feel traces of the emotions which were cursing through his husband's body at the moment. _Anger_, _sadness_ and, the strongest of them, _shame_.

Spock sighed. This was not how he had pictured their day to start.

As soon as they arrived at Spock's parents' home, Jim got out of the car, slamming the door shut, before climbing over the low fence into the front garden. Spock followed him slowly.

Mother opened the door, smiling brightly at him, before frowning when Jim brushed past her, "Jim, what-"

Spock reached out, resting a hand on his Mother's shoulder, shaking his head when she looked at him inquiringly. Spock slipped out of his shoes, jerking his head to indicate that they should go inside to sit down and talk. She nodded, brows drawn slightly as she guided Spock into the living-room. Jim had vanished out into the garden; the door to the terrace had been opened, the curtain billowing in the warm breeze that blew into the room and his shoes had been toed off, leaving them to lie in front of the door. Spock sat down upon the couch, waiting until his Mother seated herself beside him, before he spoke, "Jim has been acting rather... odd these past weeks. There are days on which he is almost unbearable to be around, be it because he is angry for some strange reason, or because he sits in a corner of our bedroom, weeping without telling me how to help him. A minute later, he is suddenly exuberant and clings to me as if I would leave him if he did not do so. I am worried, Mother."

Mother sighed, looking rather helpless, "I don't know what to tell you, darling. It sounds like someone experiencing a bout of manic-depression."

"Jim is not mentally ill, Mother. I would be affected too, if he were."

"I know, Spock."

"He has also started to eat strange food combinations, especially in the morning. Yesterday, he decided to consume a slice of cucumber bread topped with a large amount of Kray-jam. I have warned him that it would not agree with his stomach, but he ate it anyway. This morning he vomited as soon as he woke."

A strange expression ghosted across Mother's face, before she shook her head as if to dispel a thought, "Have you spoken to Leonard yet?"

"No, Jim asked me not to. I will however, if this affair proceeds to worsen. It might be a delayed reaction to the medicine he received to combat the symptoms of the Chloridian Flu."

"Yes, that sounds logical," Mother nodded, but Spock could not stop thinking that she had another theory that she refused to share with him, "I do believe it would be prudent to at least ask Leonard what it might be, Spock. You do not have to tell Jim that you have done so, but if it is something serious it is wise to know about it as soon as possible."

"I am aware of this Mother."

She sighed, "Honey, what happened between Jim and you on the way here?"

"We had... an argument."

"About?"

"About me using the word 'indeed'. It was rather illogical, Mother. It is merely a word and he behaved as if I had broken his trust by sleeping with another. I have been trying to be patient with him, but I... lost my temper, I believe."

"I always thought he found it funny that you used it so often," Mother leaned forwards, brows furrowed heavily, creating a deep line between them.

"He did, but during these past weeks, he... started to become very irritated whenever I used it."

Mother chuckled, "I... I'm sorry, I just... he did not, maybe, develop an allergy towards the word 'indeed', did he?"

"Mother."

"I know, I know, my jokes are bad and inappropriate."

"Indeed."

She snickered into her hand, "Well, whatever it is that is Jim's problem, I am sure he will tell you in time."

Spock deflated, "I wish to help him, Mother, but I do not know how to approach him anymore. He is constantly pulling away and..."

He trailed off, feeling Jim's mind prod at the bond tentatively, as he was scared to be pushed away. Spock gently pulled the timid tendrils into his own mindscape, before standing to walk towards the open terrace door. Mother did not even question his sudden silence, watching as he left to search for Jim.

Jim was waiting for him at their secret place, huddled next to the small pond, knees drawn to his chest as he gathered up soil to throw it into the water listlessly.

"Jim?" Spock said quietly, sitting down beside his bondmate.

"I'm sorry, Spock, I don't know what I was thinking... I just...," the younger man sighed heavily, turning towards Spock to crawl into his lap, curling up against his chest and wrapping his arms around his neck, "I'm sorry."

"It is alright, Jim."

"Maybe we should call Bones tomorrow."

"Only if you wish to do so, Jim."

"And I wasn't serious when I said there won't be any sex for a month..."

Spock snorted softly, burying his face in Jim's tousled mane, "Yes, Jim, I know."

"And you can say 'indeed' as much as you want."

"Thank you, Jim."

They simply sat in the grass for a while, watching the sun wander across the sky. Finally, Spock stood, not even asking when Jim refused to be set down onto his own feet. He simply carried the younger man back towards the house, marching into the kitchen to pry Jim off himself and drop him onto his respective chair, before sitting down beside him. Mother was already standing by the hearth, the scent of various spices and vegetables filled the air.

Jim laid his head onto the table, narrowly missing the fork lying there, "I'm a terrible bondmate, Manda."

"Nonsense, Jim. You're just having a bad day. Happens to the best of us."

"But I made Spock angry at me."

"Jim, I am sitting beside you."

"I know, but I'm talking to Amanda, silly."

"Of course. How ignorant of me."

"Why did you make Spock angry, sweets?"

"I don't know. I was just... angry at him and I wanted to make him understand that he was being annoying, but he didn't and I don't even know why I thought he was being annoying! He wasn't! He was being Spock, just like always and I love Spock. I don't want him to stop being Spock, that'd be stupid. Oh fuck, what am I even saying," Jim groaned, "Could I have a glass of water, please? Maybe I'll stop sounding like a fourteen-year-old girl then."

Mother complied, filling a large glass with water, before holding it out towards Jim. The young man sat up, grasping the offered item and started to gulp the water down in large swallows, before setting the empty glass down onto the table, "Thanks, Amanda."

"No problem, honey. Are you feeling better?"

Jim nodded, rubbing a hand over his eyes, "I seriously don't know what happened. It's like I was word-vomiting, I couldn't stop. Neither did I seem to really think about what I was saying."

Spock gently placed a cool hand against Jim's forehead, "Your temperature appears to be slightly elevated. It might be prudent to contact Leonard now instead of tomorrow."

"Can we eat before we call Bones? I'm starving."

"In ten minutes, Jim," Mother turned back to the hearth, "Sarek will be here in two minutes. Spock, could you put the salad-bowl on the table? No, Jim, sit down, I'm sure my son is perfectly capable of carrying a bowl without causing something to go up in flames."

Spock was relieved to hear Jim laugh and decided not to comment on his Mother's rather unfair quip.

Exactly 2.3 minutes later, Father arrived in the kitchen, seating himself at the table, one brow raised as he took in Jim's slightly deflated posture, "Are you well, James?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine, Sarek, thank you for asking," Jim smiled tiredly.

Father nodded slowly but did not pursue the issue.

Finally, 8.5 minutes later, they started their meal. Jim, although relatively quiet, ate quite enthusiastically, shovelling down his second piece of vegetable lasagne, just as Spock was finishing his first helping. Suddenly, Jim stopped eating altogether, his fork hovering above the plate, eyes wide and mouth shut tightly enough to cause his lips to lose their colour.

A sense of nausea flooded Spock's mind through the bond and a second later, Jim bolted from the table towards the bathroom. Spock did not even think as he jumped up and ran after his husband. Jim seemed to barely reach the bathroom in time, throwing himself in front of the toilet and regurgitating everything he had minutes ago ingested. Spock cringed at the violent heaving, kneeling down to rub soothing circles into Jim's trembling back. It took 7.6 minutes for Jim's vomiting to cease.

"May I call Leonard now, Jim?"

"Y-yeah, in a minute," Jim hunched over the toilet for a moment longer, before wiping the sleeve of his shirt over his mouth, turning around to bury his face in Spock's shoulder, "Bones is going to be so mad at me, Spock."

"It is not your fault that you are sick again, Jim, especially since we have been very careful for the past weeks to avoid you becoming infected with any sort of virus," Spock pressed a tiny kiss to Jim's hair, trying to ignore the tight ball of concern that had settled heavily within his stomach.

They proceeded to simply sit on the cold, tiled floor of the bathroom for a long while, quietly relishing in each other's presence, the bond wide open and their minds twined tightly around each other. Spock started to rock them back and forth, feeling Jim shudder against him, the way he would before starting to weep. The helplessness that had threatened to overwhelm Spock since arriving at his parents' home spilled over and he tightened his hold upon the younger man.

"Spock?" Jim's voice, usually so bright and confident, was dripping with fear and the need for reassurance, "There's something seriously wrong with me, isn't there?"

He did not answer, sliding his hand up into the curls at the back of Jim's neck.

"You think it's... to do with... what happened back then? When the bond was broken...? Maybe...?"

Spock closed his eyes, turning his head to bury his nose in the soft locks of gold tickling his chin, "I... do not know, Jim. I will call Leonard now."

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><p>Ending was blah. Oh well, doesn't matter. D: Is this considered a cliffhanger? I've been trying to avoid those, but I have that odd quirk that every chapter has to be at least five word document pages long... so yeah. :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Down By The Railway Siding

Be prepared! *coughs*

Be prepared for experiencing the worst medicaly crap spewing in the history of medical crap spewing. I probably butchered everything. Oh well.

This is a warning. If you are not comfortable with the themes of this fic, please stop reading and do not write hurtful comments. Thank you.

Almighty Grrrrrrr: I'm so silly, I counted the 'r's in your name instead of copy-pasting... Uhm. Yes it is!

Talltree-san: You poor girl! I'd offer you my boyfriend, but he's mine :3 Well, Sherlock Holmes, let's see if you deduced correctly, hm?

Kim: Oooh, you get a thumbs-up and a cookie for actually thinking about other things that might be wrong with Jimmy :)

Adrianna: Start squeeing for real, my dear :)

ShayLove: I had to edit, because you wrote the review after I posted the chapter :) You're welcome! I always try to responds to every review ;) Yaiy! More cake!

Alright. This thing. I don't even know what I was thinking when I started this fic, but oh well. I apologise for all the medical errors I made, I'm not a Doctor and I had no one to ask D: Hopefully, you will enjoy the chapter anyway... because I certainly had fun writing it. :B

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 3: down by the railway siding

Jim had let himself be carried out of the bathroom, not even protesting when Spock announced that they would return home immediately and call Leonard as soon as they arrived. Manda had promptly started to pack the rest of the lasagne into a container, declaring that they could eat it for dinner when Jim was better.

Which is how Jim ended up in the passenger seat of the car, a large container on his lap while Spock drove them back home. Feeling awfully tired, Jim let his head rest against the window pane beside him, eyes slipping closed. Upon opening them again, he was surprised that they had arrived at their house. Spock slid out of the car, walking around it to open the door on Jim's side, "Are you able to walk or do you wish to be carried?"

"I can walk," Jim said, grinning lopsidedly, "But I wanna be carried anyway."

Spock seemed to relax slightly, mouth quirking upwards at the corners, "Very well."

Jim gave a delighted giggle and let himself be scooped off the passenger seat and into Spock's arms. He felt a lot better, but there was still a lingering grain of fear seated comfortably in his stomach. Spock carried him inside, carefully lowering him onto the couch, tugging the folded blanket over him that they kept there in case that one of them fell asleep on the sofa, before taking the container of out Jim's hands, placing it on the ground. Deciding to let his frazzled husband coddle him for a while, Jim kept quiet as Spock tucked the blanket tightly around him and then rushed towards his communicator lying on the coffee table in front of the couch to call Bones.

"_Leonard McCoy speaking_."

"Leonard, this is Spock. I am calling on behalf of Jim, he is experiencing strange symptoms and we would like to ask you to examine him. We assume it is a delayed reaction to the medication you have given him, but we cannot be sure."

"_G'dammit you two, I just got him back on his feet and_-"

"Leonard. Please."

There was a short silence, followed by a heaving sigh, "_I'll be over in fifteen minutes. Keep an eye on him_."

"Thank you. Spock out," Spock deactivated the communicator and sat down on the edge of the couch, reaching out to place his hand against Jim's cheek tenderly, "Must you always worry me so, James?"

"I'm sorry, Spock," Jim smiled reassuringly, leaning into the touch, "I feel better now, though."

"That is fortunate. I would still like to hear Leonard's opinion, however," Spock trailed his fingertips over the meld points upon Jim's face, breathing out a heavy sigh, "You are experiencing a headache, Jim."

"Yeah," Jim shrugged, "But it's not that bad. Has it spread over the bond?"

"No, I was only able to feel it now," Spock nuzzled his nose against Jim's, "Is there anything else you are not telling me?"

"Nope."

"Jim."

"Fine. I'm a little dizzy," Jim huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Not a big deal, Spock."

Spock rolled his eyes skyward, "We have established that your judgement regarding what is considered a 'big deal' is rather impaired and therefore not trustworthy. I will wait for Leonard's diagnosis."

"You just want to get revenge because I was so mean to you in the car, admit it," Jim mumbled.

"Do not be ridiculous, Jim," Spock stroked his hair, "Leonard is a trained Doctor and it is only logical to ask him to examine you, considering how your behaviour has changed in the past weeks."

"At least you're not sending me to a nuthouse," the younger man turned onto his side, burying his face in the back of the couch.

"A 'nuthouse', Jim? I do not think being surrounded by nuts would be helpful in this situation."

Jim snickered into the cushions, "Shut up, you know what I meant."

He heard Spock huff out a quiet breath before the Vulcan-hybrid stood to walk into the kitchen. Jim listened to the water being turned on, before being distracted by a sudden cramp in his abdomen. He hissed, more in surprise than actual pain, curling up beneath the blanket and wrapping his arms around his aching middle.

"Spock?" Jim called out, cursing himself mentally, when his voice came out sounding meek.

Spock was beside him in an instant, kneeling down near Jim's head and Jim breathed a sigh of relief when a wave of soothing warmth surged through the bond as Spock's hand touched the tense muscles between his shoulder blades, "Jim? What is wrong?"

Face scrunched up in discomfort, he turned his head to look at his husband, "I don't know. My stomach hurts."

Spock frowned openly, rubbing firm circles into Jim's back, eyes darting towards the front door, "Leonard will be here soon, Jim."

"Okay," Jim said quietly, "Fuck, this is the worst day ever."

"I highly doubt this, Jim. We have had worse days."

"Fine, the worst day since the day we decided to be total morons and broke our bond," Jim quipped, grinning at Spock while pressing his hands into his stomach area, trying to elevate the pain.

Short, hard knocks pulled their attention towards the front door. Jim sat up when Spock hurried away to open the door to let Bones in, cringing slightly, when the older man promptly stomped into the living-room, carrying the large bag made from synthetic leather that held his medical instruments, "Hey, Bones."

"Tell me, Jimbo, why is it that, everytime I get invited to yer house, ya either need someone to open the cucumber jar for ya, because yer hubby ain't home, or because ya managed to hurt yerself in some way or another?" Bones did not even wait for an answer before he started to arrange Jim into a reclined position, "Now, what are yer symptoms?"

Jim glanced at Spock, who was standing near the doorway to the living-room, "Spock...? Maybe you should..."

Visibly grateful for having something to do, Spock started to rattle of a list of symptoms, "Jim has been going through rapid mood changes for the past 5.4 weeks. 3.4 weeks ago he has started to consume odd food combinations and he has vomited twice today, once immediately after awakening and the second time while we were having dinner at my parents' house. Currently he is experiencing a headache and stomach pains without a logical explanation as to why."

Bones nodded, pulling the tricorder out of his bag and began to slowly scan Jim's torso, starting with his head and moving downwards to stop at his abdomen. He scowled at the readings, "Your hormones are totally out of whack and your temperature is a little elevated and this stupid thing indicates there might be some kind of ulcer in your stomach-lining. Apart from that you're perfectly fine... I'll do a blood-test and call you as soon as I get the results, alright? These tricorders might be great for simple diagnoses, but I want to be sure, since your symptoms are definitely not normal if it is just an ulcer."

The Doctor's voice trailed off at the end and Jim had the distinct feeling that the man had a theory, but clearly no intention to tell them yet.

Jim sighed, frustrated that they would have to wait again, "Yeah, alright."

Bones gently stretched Jim's arm out and searched for a vein, before sliding the hollow needle into the blond's elbow, watching as the, seemingly healthy, dark blood drained into the container, filling it quickly. When three containers had been filled, he pressed a small gauze-pad onto the puncture wound. He held it there for five minutes, before lifting the pad carefully, nodding, satisfied that it had stopped bleeding and had not bruised.

Jim pouted when Bones covered the tiny wound with a coloured band-aid, "Thanks, Bones, I'm so glad you think that I'm a grown man."

"You're welcome, Jimbo."

Jim groaned, turning onto his side to hide his face in the couch's back rest again, "I hate you all."

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Bones grabbed his shoulder and returned him to the prone, outstretched position he had been before, "Can you tell me what kind of stomach pain it is? A stinging, burning…?"

"More like a cramp, as if my muscles locked up, but they didn't."

Bones lifted Jim's shirt, gently palpitating his abdomen, frowning slightly, "Strange… well, if it is an ulcer, we'll know in a few hours. I can't give you any medication at the moment, since I don't know what we're dealing with. Besides, I have no intention of dealing with another of yer random allergies again."

"You're too kind," Jim snapped, "So, if there's nothing else you want to poke and scan upon my person, you're free to leave, I'm going to sleep."

He pulled the duvet over his head and settled down in a tightly curled ball of frustrated anger.

"Jim, you're being ridiculous," Bones drawled, tugging the cover off his face to lift an eyebrow at him, "I'm going to find out what's wrong, but you have to give me at least a little time to run the blood-test."

Jim huffed, ducking back underneath the blanket, "Wake me when you found out what's wrong with me."

"Jim-"

"Goodnight!"

And that was that.

He must have fallen asleep during his definitely-not-pouting and only woke, when he felt Spock lift him up to bring him upstairs. Snuggling against his husband's shoulder, he sighed contently, whining when Spock settled him on their shared bed and tucked him in, "Come to bed too…"

"I cannot, Jim, I need to wait for Leonard's call. You may continue sleeping, however."

"Don't wanna…"

"Go to sleep, Jim."

"M'nuh…"

He felt Spock's good-natured amusement trickle through their bond, causing him to grin sleepily, even though he did not even know what was so funny. Long, cool fingers tangled themselves into his hair, gently running them through the tousled curls.

"Spock?"

"Yes, t'hy'la?"

"I acted weird again, didn't I."

"…Yes, you did."

"Did Bones and you talk after I fell asleep?"

"I tried to convince him to tell me his thoughts concerning what it might be that ails you. However, he vehemently refused, telling me that he did not want to worry me further by 'throwing some weird ideas into the room'."

"Ah… what's the time anyway? How long was I asleep?"

"You have slept for one hour and thirteen minutes, Jim."

"Thank you, Cogsworth."

"I will never understand your fascination with the movies created by Disney, Jim."

"Odd, considering that you instantly knew what I was talking about," Jim snickered when Spock lifted an eyebrow, "Admit it, you secretly love those sappy, happily-ever-after movies."

"I do not Jim, stop being illogical and rest."

"But I'm fine, my headache's gone and my stomach feels fine too."

Spock did not answer, but instead bolted when the beeping of his communicator sounded from downstairs. Jim rolled his eyes and scrambled out of the bed to rush after him, staggering slightly, when it caused his headache to return. His husband was talking quietly into his communicator, leaning against the back of the couch, brows drawn as he nodded, "Yes… yes, thank you, Leonard. We will be over as soon as possible. Spock out."

"What did he say?" Jim asked warily.

"The blood-tests revealed something that he would like to tell us about in person. Additionally, he wishes to examine you again at his office."

"Why?"

"The equipment there is a lot more precise than a tricorder."

Jim nodded, trying to ignore the fear twisting in his stomach, "Alright, let's go then."

The drive to Bones' office was a quiet one. When they arrived, Bones was already waiting for them, ushering both Jim and Spock into his office and practically lifted Jim onto the examination table.

"So, Bones, what's wrong with me?" Jim said, smiling brightly, but quite aware of the fact that it looked more like a grimace than a smile

Bones did not answer immediately. Instead, he activated the monitor above the table. The words heartbeat, heart rate and brain activity became visible upon the screen. While Bones started to adjust the readings, Jim stared at the tiny, rapidly bouncing line beneath his heartbeat. Was that some kind of error, or what was that thing supposed to be?

"Alright, Jim...," Bones trailed off, looking at Spock, "You should sit down, Spock."

If Jim had been nervous before, he was now having a tiny panic attack on the inside. Spock seated himself on the chair standing closely by the table Jim had been planted on. Bones nodded, drawing in a deep breath as, clearly steadying himself before opening his mouth to, _finally_, tell them what was going on with Jim, "Alright, here goes. Jim, you are aware that, during the time of the Third World War, the Eastern Union developed a knock-out gas that, when released, did not only cause severe lung scarring and sometimes even brain damage. Two months after it was used to the first time, there was a drastic decrease in children being born all over the world."

"Yeah I know. The gas was so persistent, that it lingered for weeks and the wind blew it into the cities. The diluted gas did no longer cause the lung scarring or brain damage, but most of the women became infertile, because it attacked the female immune-system a lot more than the male. Which is kinda odd, considering that women generally have a better immune-system...," Jim frowned.

"Correct, it turned out that they had anticipated this effect and actually hoped that it would happen. The Western Union was effectively distracted as they tried to find a way to help the population from decreasing further. After hearing of a few cases of men that had been born with functioning uteri in the twenty-first century, they decided to use stem-cells to try and cultivate a uterus within a male test-subject. It worked and the scientists decided to go further by extracting the gene that was responsible for uteri-growth."

"I know all that Bones, the process was effective, lots of guys agreed to get themselves knocked up for the sake of society, the War ended in a draw."

"The gene," Bones said, as if Jim had not interrupted him, "is a recessive one. That means, both parents need to have said gene for the male child to possess a uterus that is, although dormant, functional. In what way the gene makes itself known differs from one individual to the other, some are aware of their differences because their genitals appear almost hermaphroditic others never find out at all."

"Bones, what are you trying to tell me here?"

Bones shook his head, "Before you had your fantastic meeting with the Chloridian Flu, you were constantly depressed, your blood sugar was extremely low and you were constantly tired. Of course, I only found out about that after you collapsed and Spock told me. You had very low progesterone levels, which means your testosterone was low too and _that_ caused the depression and insomnia. Due to your insomnia, your immune-system was already weakened and that is most likely why you got infected with the Chloridian Flu so easily. While giving you the medication for the Flu I also added a few shots of progesterone treatment to up it again."

The Doctor fell silent and Jim had a gnawing suspicion of what exactly the Doctor was trying to tell him, but his consciousness did not truly process what was going on, he simply listened to the medical crap Bones was currently flinging at him, "And? What does this mean now? You're not making any sense!"

"Jim," Bones fell silent again, closing his eyes and running his hands through his hair, "You're pregnant."

A deafening silence filled the office.

A tiny, hysterical chuckle escaped Jim's mouth, "No. No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I tested your blood for every goddamn thing I could think of and that's the result. You're pregnant, got knocked up, there's a bun in your oven. Pregnant," Bones scowled, "You don't believe me? Fine. I need to do an ultrasound anyway. Lie down and lift your shirt up."

Jim complied quietly, freaking out internally as he lifted his shirt up to expose his smooth belly.

Bones stood to drag the ultrasound machine over to the table, the large, flat screen flaring to life as he activated it. Carefully, the Doctor dribbled the cold gel onto Jim's stomach, ignoring the quiet hiss and setting the transducer into the glob of gel to spread it around while the picture was processed. Jim turned his head, staring at the 3D image of his insides.

There it was. A tiny, oddly shaped thing seated inside something that definitely looked like a uterus. A small, rapid heartbeat thrummed through the speakers to both sides of the ultrasound screen.

"Oh... holy fuck," Jim whispered.

He heard Spock stand, the chair his husband had been occupying falling over with a clatter. A mere second later, there was a heavy thud and Jim sat up to stare down at Spock lying on the floor, unconscious. Bones set the transducer onto a paper-towel, before standing to walk around the table, "Trust your husband to have a fainting spell when finding out he's going to be a father."

"Bones!" Jim screeched, "I... how is this even possible? I'm... there's... _what the hell_?"

The Doctor gripped his shoulders, "Jim calm down. It's simple. Your parents both, obviously, had the recessive gene. Your uterus was dormant and I assume that, because of the increase of progesterone in your system, it activated itself over the weeks that passed."

"But how did I get pregnant?"

Bones lifted an eyebrow, "Jim, you know how this works, you had sex before. No, no, I'm sorry, not funny. I know. Calm down. It's simple. These extra organs of yours are in a protective lining that keeps them separated from your other organs to prevent them from being damaged if you manage to get yourself pregnant. I'm only assuming this but, the logical explanation as to how Spock's tiny soldiers managed to invade your little island is that there's a kind of opening that runs somewhat parallel to your colon and opens into your rectum."

Jim's head was reeling. How was that simple again? "Okay... okay, you know what? Let's just... I..."

"Oh no, you're not fainting on me too, Mommy," Bones snapped, cupping Jim's face in both of his calloused hands, forcing him to look at the Doctor, "You're not going to have a panic attack now. Just breathe for a minute."

Nodding, Jim tried to comply with the Doctor's order. After what seemed like a small eternity, Jim finally managed to calm down. Somewhat at least, "Bones... I'm going to have a _baby_."

"Glad you finally caught up, Jimbo. Now, let's try and wake your husband, that floor can't be comfortable."

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><p>I will go and hide now. In a small corner. Over there. *points*<p> 


	4. Chapter 4: We Were Hiding Love

Hey guys!

Okay, this chapter is... entirely useless! :D But it was at least fun to write. Oh well!

ShayLove: But... but my corner! It's cozy there :( I'm typing! D:

Talltree-san: Thank you. Your review practically made my day :D Along with the others, but the 'fainting rights' had me laughing so hard, I scared my cats.

Muwahkisses: First. I love your name. Second. I love you too! ...I don't even know you :3

meakamaxwell: ;) I'm preparing for the name suggestions.

Kim: :D You're the first one to accuse me of being tricky. I'm glad the medical stuff wasn't that bad... and... what did what sound what way? D:

Adrianna: *pats your head* *gives you a cookie* :) You're so adorable, you squee-y little thing.

Anyway, this thing is unbetaed, probably riddled with errors I could not find. I hope you enjoy it anyway :)

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 4: we were hiding love

Upon waking, Spock immediately noticed the hard surface he was lying on that, opposed to the relative softness that supported his head, was highly uncomfortable and made him want to squirm. A slender hand brushed over his cheek, the fingertips slightly calloused. Spock's eyes fluttered open and he had to blink three times before they were able to focus on his bondmate, who was leaning over him, smiling uncertainly.

"Oh, good, you're awake. Finally, Bones was about to stick a hypo in you," Jim said with a grin that seemed to waver at its corners, "You okay?"

Spock nodded, sitting up slowly. He was a little surprised when he realised that he had been lying on the ground, his head cradled in Jim's lap, "What has happened?"

"Ya fainted," Leonard quipped, kneeling down beside him, a tiny smirk lounging in the corners of his mouth, "Like a fairy princess."

Spock frowned at the entirely too chipper man standing beside the examination table, leaning his hip against the gleaming metal contraption, "A 'fairy princess', Leonard?"

"Yep."

"An illogical comparison, considering I am neither female nor do I possess any sort of wing-like appendages."

"Don't take everything I say so seriously, Spock. You fainted and it was hilarious."

"I could have injured myself, Leonard."

"Good thing I'm a Doctor then!"

Jim chuckled into his palm, "How old are you two again? Five? I thought I married a grown Vulcan!"

"Nope, you obviously married a fairy princess, Jimbo."

Deciding not to answer, Spock furrowed his brows slightly as he tried to remember what had occurred before he woke up prone on the floor. When his brain finally supplied him with the needed information, he instantly felt light-headed again, raising a hand to rest his forehead against his palm, "Leonard, is it... are you certain?"

"That you knocked your husband up? You saw the ultrasound," Leonard reached out, grasping Spock's elbows to pull him to his feet, steadying him as he swayed, "Jim, up on the table, I ain't finished with examining ya yet. Or rather, the tiny hobgoblin you've taken to carrying around."

Jim stood, hopping onto the table, face suddenly closed off and free of mirth again as he stretched out on his back for the second time this day. Leonard set the chair that had fallen over when Spock stood upright again and Spock let himself be manoeuvred onto it. The Doctor walked back around the table, peeling the shirt off Jim's stomach where the gel had caused it to stick to the skin. Shaking his head, Leonard wiped the dried gel off with a wet towel, before applying another glob of the translucent substance.

Once more Spock was confronted with the image of the barely formed child nestled within Jim's body. The sound of a steady, rapid heartbeat filled the room and Spock found himself struggling to keep calm. Leonard moved the transducer slowly over Jim's stomach, reaching out towards the screen to magnify the picture. Spock was now able to discern the pulsating heart, dark against the foetus tiny body, watching as it moved away from the transducer touching Jim's stomach.

"Well... the baby's about nine weeks along. The uterus usually takes about a week to become functional after being activated within the male body. After that, it takes about two weeks for the ovulation to take place, so you must have gotten pregnant about three weeks after you were healthy again. So, when I say nine weeks, I mean Gestational weeks. You probably want to count in Fetal weeks, meaning from the time the impregnation took place and your little bundle of joy settled in its temporary home. In Fetal weeks you'd be about seven weeks along now," Leonard nodded at the screen, "Heartbeat sounds very good. Baby is a little tinier than it should be, but we won't worry about that now since it's otherwise developing perfectly."

Jim covered his face with both hands, his voice muffled as he spoke, "Great that the Baby is doing fine, but how does that explain the headache and the cramping?"

"The headache is probably either stress related or because of the change in hormones in yer body. The cramping is yer uterus growing to accommodate the baby and, although not everyone has them, they are actually pretty common. I'm guessing that ya had slight stomach pains before today too, but simply choose to ignore them, am I right?"

Jim nodded sheepishly, "Yeah... I had this odd pulling sensation from time to time, but I thought nothing of it because it went away rather quickly again."

Leonard rolled his eyes, "Right. I'll step outside and let ya two have a moment. Call me when you're finished."

Leonard pulled the transducer off Jim's belly, setting it down on the paper towel again, before cleaning the gel off the blond's stomach quickly, tugging the shirt back down and finally leaving the room. Standing as soon as the door had closed, Spock walked closer towards the table, reaching out to rest his palm against Jim's flat, firm abdomen. He looked down at Jim, meeting his wide, too blue eyes. The younger man swallowed thickly, placing his own hand over Spock's.

A long silence followed this gesture, before Spock directed his gaze at the frozen image of the foetus. It was so small, the arms and legs just barely discernible and the head much too big.

"Spock...?"

He turned his attention back towards his husband, "Yes, Jim?"

Jim averted his gaze, twitching as he continued to lie on the table, one hand fumbling with the hem of his shirt, "You... I mean... you do want... want to keep it, right?"

Involuntarily, simply a display of disbelieve and horror, Spock's mouth opened in a tiny gape, "Of course, Jim, why would I... do you truly think I could...?"

Jim groaned, "No. _Fuck_. I don't know, Spock! I know you'd never tell me to get rid of it, I don't even know why I asked! This is all so confusing. Nothing makes sense anymore."

Spock sighed, pulling Jim into a sitting position, cradling his husband's face between his palms, "It will be alright, Jim, I do want this child, even if the circumstances are rather peculiar."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know my parents both carried the gene. Hell, I barely knew my Mom at all, considering that she was almost never home... and I don't even remember her that well anymore either," Jim shrugged, smiling lopsidedly, "So... how about we call Bones back in?"

Spock inclined his head and, letting go of Jim's face, walked towards the door. Leonard had been waiting patiently and immediately returned to Jim's side, gesturing for Spock to come closer, "Alright you two. Jim, your blood showed a slight copper deficiency. I'm going to give you copper supplements, because the kid's clearly got Spock's green ice-water for blood and once it starts to really grow, you'll need all the help you can get to keep the baby and yourself healthy. Additionally, I have to tell you that there's still a rather high risk that your body simply aborts the foetus, _but_," he stressed the last word when Jim opened his mouth to interrupt, "I will do everything I can so that this particular scenario will not happen, alright?"

Leonard handed Jim a small container filled with bluish white pills, instructing him to take one each day, explaining that it was a slightly higher dose than he should receive, but since the baby would draw the excessive copper from his blood stream quite quickly, there should be no side effects. Jim seemed slightly lost as he stared at the tablets, and Leonard sighed, "You'll do fine, Jimbo. Just keep an eye on what you're eating and don't forget to take your copper supplements."

Jim nodded, smiling gratefully, "Thanks, Bones."

"Yeah, you're welcome, kiddo," he helped Jim off the table, "You can go for today. Call me if something comes up, if not, we'll see each other in two weeks for the next check-up. I'll call Amanda's Doctor too to find out a little more about how to handle this."

"We shall be there," Spock said quietly, gently placing a hand to the small of Jim's back to guide his husband towards the door, when Leonard called them back.

"Not so fast, you forgot something," Leonard strode towards the ultrasound, tinkering with the machine, before it started to beep and whirr, producing a sheet of sturdy paper that held the first picture of the child.

The Doctor carefully slid the printed image into an envelope, handing it to Jim, "Here you go, gentlemen. Drive safely and Spock... keep an eye on Mommy-to-be."

Instantly, the bond began to boil with furious anger, spilling over from Jim's mind. Before Jim could even think of mauling the chuckling Doctor for giving him such a ridiculous nickname, Spock had nodded and guided his fuming husband out of the office.

"Stupid Bones! Next time I see him, I'm gonna jab him with every hypo I can find in his office! Mommy-to-be... seriously?"

Spock was a little confused by the overly dramatic outburst, "James, please, calm yourself."

"No!" Jim actually stomped his foot onto the ground, reminiscent of a small child having a temper tantrum, "I need to get this out of my system, Spock, don't interrupt me!"

Ah... this was one of Jim's mood swings, apparently.

"I was merely-"

"I'm going to kill him, slowly and painfully!"

"Jim, he only-"

"Maybe I should sew his mouth shut, that'd teach him!"

"James, please, this cannot be healthy for the child."

Jim's mouth snapped shut and his eyes bulged out of their sockets as he stared down at himself, "Are you sure? Does that I mean I can't murder Bones?"

Spock sighed softly, "No, Jim. May we return home now?"

"Oh. Yeah, sorry," Jim climbed into the car when Spock unlocked the vehicle, choosing to sit on the passenger seat instead of scrambling behind the wheel like usual.

Spock was glad that Jim did not insist on driving. He definitely needed something to occupy himself now to stop his head from reeling. They drove back home in silence and Jim vacated the vehicle as soon as it was parked, hurrying towards the front door and vanishing into their house when he managed to open the door. Spock sat in the car for a while longer, simply staring at the steering wheel in front of him, knuckles white from the tight grip he had on it. Jim was pregnant.

_Pregnant_.

Spock was going to be a _father_.

Overwhelmed, he rested his forehead against the synthetic leather covering of the wheel.

A soft, tentative tugging issuing from Jim's side of the bond made him exit the car to enter the house. He found Jim sitting on the couch, legs curled up against his chest, arms resting on his knees. Spock lowered himself onto the cushions beside Jim, waiting patiently, the envelope containing the ultrasound picture of their child lying on the coffee-table.

Finally, Jim spoke, voice quiet and sounding slightly off, "We're going to be parents, Spock."

Spock nodded slowly, almost afraid to speak, the atmosphere was strangely fragile.

Jim unfolded himself, one hand coming to rest on his stomach as he frowned pensively, eyes ghosting towards the envelope, "I don't... know if I'm ready to tell Manda and your Father yet. This is... I need to get used to it first."

"I understand, Jim."

"... So...," Jim's bright smile broke the uncomfortably tender situation, "How about I make dinner and then we go to bed? I'm really tired."

Spock nodded and had to stop himself from following Jim into the kitchen. His eyes landed on the chronometer above the door to the hallway. It was already thirteen minutes past ten. It had indeed been a long day for them. Even he was beginning to notice the first symptoms of fatigue.

A few minutes later, Jim returned with two plates containing the vegetable lasagne Mother had packed for them, holding one plate out to Spock, who took his with a grateful nod.

Just as they were about to start their late dinner, the comm. unit began to beep, signalling an incoming call. Spock set his plat aside and moved to answer, "Spock speaking."

"_Hey darling, I'm just calling because your Father and I were worried since you didn't comm. us as soon as you were home- oh stop it, Sarek, you were worried, at least be Vulcan enough to admit it- how is Jimmy doing?"_

"He is well, Mother," Spock glanced at his bondmate.

"_Did you go and see Leonard?_"

"Yes, Jim has been examined by Leonard. Apparently, it was merely a combination of stress and a slight reaction to a vitamin shot Jim received two days ago," Spock lied easily.

"_I'm glad it's nothing serious, honey,_" Mother said brightly, "_Have you two eaten yet?_"

"We are currently having dinner, Mother."

"_Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting you two then. Goodnight, darling,_" his Mother's voice rose a little as she addressed Jim, somehow knowing he was listening, although the call had been audio only, "_Get better soon, Jimmy!_"

"Thanks, Manda, goodnight!" Jim called back, before whispering, "Nothing serious indeed..."

The comm. call ended and Spock returned to the couch, sitting down again to resume eating, keeping an eye on his bondmate, not wanting to be caught off guard if Jim's nausea returned. It did not and Jim leaned back with a satisfied groan when he finished eating. Spock gathered up the used dishes, carrying them into the kitchen to set them in the dishwasher. He heard Jim get up, before two slender arms wrapped around his middle, squeezing gently. Spock turned around in Jim's embrace, gazing down at his husband. A tiny grin curled Jim's lips upwards and there was a soft twinkle in his eyes.

Spock felt his own expression relax into a barely visible smile and he gently slid his arms around Jim, grasping his hip to lift him slightly and leaned down to press a small kiss to his husband's forehead, "Do you wish to retire to bed now, Jim?"

Jim nodded tiredly, hooking their index fingers together and started to pull Spock towards the staircase leading up to their bedroom.

As soon as they were settled and Jim had snuggled into his respective place buried in Spock's side, already fast asleep, Spock started to ruminate about the situation. He wondered how he would explain this to his parents, how the council would react and if he could still become an Ambassador considering Jim's current condition. Was it even possible for him to travel now that he was pregnant?

What would his Father say? Would their child be accepted by its peers at school later? His own childhood had been mottled with taunts and days of coming home hiding bruises from his Mother, he did not wish for his child to suffer through the same treatment.

Spock moved his hand slowly, slipping his fingers underneath Jim's shirt to cover the still flat abdomen. It was warm, more than usual and Spock was almost certain that he was able to feel a tiny, firm structure beneath Jim's navel that had not been there before.

A soft murmur against his collarbone indicated that Jim had dropped into the REM phase of sleep, his body twitching slightly against him as he dreamt. Jumbled images and emotions dripped through their bond, too blurred to be recognisable. Spock pulled the sleeping Human a little closer.

Maybe it would be better to give up on wanting to go to Earth. Jim would have to confront his past and the stress that would follow could not be healthy for the child.

Spock felt a sort of panic rise within his chest. What if something happened to Jim while he was not home? What if they lost the child?

"Sp'ck...?" Jim mumbled, patting his chest, "St'p thinkin' 'nd g' sleep..."

"I apologise, Jim," he whispered.

"Y' worry too much," came the muffled response.

"Considering what we have already been through, Jim, I believe my concern is warranted," Spock answered.

"Hmm...," Jim yawned, "'s okay..."

Spock shook his head, confused by the tranquillity that flowed through Jim like a steady stream of water. It was as if all the excitement they had gone through today had simply seeped out of the Human's body and vaporized into thin air.

"Jim, how can you be this calm?"

"Freaked out already after you fainted at Bones' office... tha's how...," the younger man gave a soft grunt and hooked his leg over Spock's hip to acquire more contact between their bodies, "Wha's your hand doin' there?"

Spock pulled his fingers out from under Jim's shirt, feeling slightly embarrassed at being caught, "I merely noticed that your temperature rose, Jim."

"Didn' you notice tha' before...? I think you said tha' already..."

"Go back to sleep, t'hy'la."

"M'no, you keep thinkin' weird stuff 'nd I don' like it," Jim huffed, opening his eyes and sitting up slightly to look at Spock, "So stop, we'll... we'll talk tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yes, Jim, I apologise."

"Well, stop apologising, 's just who you are," Jim dropped back into the pillows with a heavy sigh, "Jus'... try to worry a little quieter, yeah? You can come in the mindscape... 's pretty there."

Spock chuckled, "It is always beautiful there, Jim."

"'s _prettier_ now."

"Good night, Jim."

"Nighty night, Spock."

Within minutes, Jim was asleep once more, snoring softly into the front of Spock's shirt. Spock ran a hand through the blond mop adorning his husband's head. Closing his eyes, Spock slowly relaxed into the mattress, relishing in the fact that Jim was so much warmer than himself and fit so perfectly against him. Involuntarily, his other hand came to rest on Jim's abdomen again. There would be a lot to speak about tomorrow.

As Spock felt his consciousness slip, the bond between them spread open, swallowing him and enveloping him in softness and light.

* * *

><p>On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Will they arrive for the appointment in time? How will Sarek react? Is plomeek soup compatable with chocolate? Find out whenever I finish the next chapter!<p>

Yeeep. I've gone insane... fuck.


	5. Chapter 5: Underwater, Unaware

Helloooo... :)

For everyone waiting for a new Chapter for Between two Worlds, I'm sorry it's taking so long, my laptop crashed and it was deleted in the process :/ I need to rewrite it again, but it's going to take a while longer. Sorry!

ShayLove: Haha, you're so adorable :)

Kim: Oh dear, I hope you're all better now! Glad you liked the chapter and that line in particular :)

Talltree-san: Out of my head, demon! D: No, no. I'm kidding :) But it's still creepy that you had the same idea as I had...with the mindscape I mean.

meakamaxwell: Oh, I do hope it's funny, but it's probably not... :) Oh well.

Adrianna: Oh dear, do you really want a grumpy baby? :) And, thank you! *gives you a cookie*

Oh, and if anyone could tell me if it is possible for Spock to only give the Vulcan half of his chromosomes to the baby, that'd be neat. Although I love biology and genetics in general, I'm a little rusty now.

Aaaanyway, it's unbetaed. Enjoy anyway!

* * *

><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 5: Underwater, Unaware

"Spock! Have you seen my blue shirt? I could have sworn I put it on the bed earlier!"

"It is on the chair, Jim, I almost sat on it and decided to relocate it there," Spock's voice was muffled by the bathroom door.

Jim nodded to himself, lifting the shirt off the seat to pull it over his head.

The past two weeks had been filled with awkward silences between Jim and Spock and evasive answers to both Amanda and Sarek whenever they inquired about Jim's well-being. Spock had taken to handle Jim like a raw egg again, driving the blond up the wall constantly. It had gone so far, that they had started to argue about the simplest of things almost every day and only when Jim threatened to move into Bones' office for the rest of the pregnancy, did Spock finally decide to back off.

Needless to say, the badly concealed hurt that had bloomed on Spock's face after Jim had thrown this ultimatum at him had immediately made Jim apologise and kiss the living hell out of his confused husband. In the end, Spock had admitted that he merely wished to protect both Jim and the unborn child from harm and apologised for not realising that it had made Jim uncomfortable. The following hours had been spent in a deep meld to soothe the tiny scrapes within their mindscape which had accumulated during their fighting.

Jim walked towards the floor-length mirror, about to start buttoning his shirt when his gaze dropped to his stomach. It was still flat, but whenever he gently pressed onto it, he could feel a strange, firm structure seated directly beneath his belly button. Additionally, his pelvis had started to hurt slightly about four days ago. Jim had called Bones, not wanting to risk anything and was a little miffed when the Doctor began to chuckle down the comm. link. Apparently, this was normal and to be expected during pregnancy. When Jim began to ask what exactly was happening that would make his entire hip area hurt, the Doctor sighed and told him that he would explain the situation when they came over for the next check-up.

Spock stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel over his half-dried hair, lifting an eyebrow at Jim, "What are you doing?"

"Buttoning my shirt."

"I see," Spock said, amusement clear on his face, "I assumed you were looking at your abdomen, I apologise."

"Shut up, Spock," Jim laughed and finished dressing himself, "If you know what I was doing, why do you even ask? Isn't that considered illogical?"

"Be quiet, Jim."

Jim snickered, walking downstairs to take his copper supplements and wait for his husband to get dressed so that they could drive to their appointment at Bones' office.

Grimacing at the dry tablet sliding down his throat, Jim quickly chugged down a glass of water to get rid of the bitter taste the slowly dissolving pill had left on the back of his tongue. Mere minutes later, he could hear Spock coming down the stairs, "Finally! I thought you got lost in Narnia or something."

"I do not know why you insist on referring to the wardrobe as 'Narnia', Jim."

"I'm not the one who kept saying how the movie did not depicture the book correctly," Jim smiled and marched towards the front door, hastily slipping into his shoes, before snatching the car keys off the tiny hook on the way, "Can I drive this time?"

"Yes. Have you taken your copper supplements, Jim?"

"Yeah, Spock," he rolled his eyes, "Hurry up already, Bones'll kill us if we're too late."

Spock tied off his right shoe and stood, "We may leave now."

"Finally!"

They got into the car, Jim sliding onto the driver's seat with a grin, not even waiting until Spock had properly buckled his seat-belt, before starting the motor and driving off, "Hey, Spock?"

"Yes, Jim?"

"About this... Ambassador thing...," Jim rounded a corner, "Do you still want to... you know, go to Earth?"

"I do. But it does not matter, Jim. Keeping you and the child safe is my first priority. I will risk neither of you simply to fulfil a dream of mine," Spock answered smoothly.

"What if I tell you that I want you to become an Ambassador?"

"No, Jim, you do not need to-"

"Spock! I really, really, _really_ want you to become an Ambassador. It's what you want to do and I'm sure we'll find a way to do this even with a baby on the way. Hell, your parents managed it too!" Jim parked the car in front of Leonard's practice, "I won't accept another 'no' from you. Now, let's get inside, we're already five minutes late."

They were greeted warmly by Bones' assistant, a tall, blonde woman named Christine Chapel. She ushered them into Bones' office. The Doctor was already waiting for them sighing heavily at the sheepish grin Jim threw him, "Yeah, yeah. Get on the table, Jimbo, you know the drill."

Jim complied, settling down on the table once more as Bones readied the ultrasound machine. The gel was cold and Jim wondered why no one ever thought of inventing a gel-warmer. Maybe he should ask Bones about it later, after he had admired the tiny life curling up within the confines of his insides, "Spock, look! Baby's got toes and fingers!"

"Indeed," Spock said quietly, reaching out to hook his index-finger around Jim's.

Bones chuckled, moving the transducer over Jim's belly slowly. The child moved jerkily and Jim's free hand twitched, tempted to lie itself over the still concave expanse of his abdomen, "Baby is around two inches from crown to rump right now, looks perfectly healthy and the heartbeat's fine too. You've been taking your copper supplements, right, Jimbo?"

"Yeah. Although they taste nasty," Jim grumbled.

"Are ya still throwing up in the morning, or did it get better?"

"I think it's been getting slightly better, but not by much."

"Huh. Well, you're eleven weeks along now and nearing the end of the first trimester. You should be feeling a lot better when you start the second one."

Wiggling his feet in a tiny victory dance, Jim grinned, "Good to know. It's a little annoying to get out of bed every morning because Baby decided that it suddenly did not like the dinner I ate anymore."

"Mhmm...," Bones hummed, nodding absentmindedly, "Do you want me to do a chorionic villus sampling or would you rather have me perform an amniocentesis a few weeks from now?"

"Uhm…?" Jim glanced helplessly at Spock.

Bones rolled his eyes, "Both chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis are used to detect if there are any chromosome abnormalities or genetic disorders present within the Baby. The chorionic villus sampling is performed by inserting a needle either through the cervix or the abdomen to retrieve a small portion of the placenta. Amniocentesis is done by using a needle to puncture the skin and get a tiny amount of amniotic fluid which contains cells shed by the fetus. I would prefer to do the latter one since it's a little more informative and it is… dare I say, safer for the child."

"Needles? Why would… it's not gonna hurt the baby, right?" Jim squirmed slightly.

"No, Jimmy, I'll be extra careful not to come too close to your little bundle of joy," Bones pulled the transducer off and printed the frozen image on the screen, "Alright… do you plan on telling Amanda and Sarek soon?"

"Then we'll do that amniocentesis thing…," Jim nodded to himself, "Yeah, we thought we'd drive over and tell them today. Oh! I wanted to ask… is it safe to travel if you're pregnant?"

Bones slid the ultrasound image into an envelope, handing it to Spock, before wiping Jim's abdomen clean, "Essentially, yes. Why? Do you plan on travelling?"

"Spock is considering becoming an Ambassador," Jim sat up, tugging his shirt back down over his belly, "But he is worried that it might be bad for the Baby's health if we have to travel."

"I see… no, you should be fine. Just wait until after we did the amniocentesis, then I can tell you for sure, even if I highly doubt that there's anything wrong with your little sunshine. We'll need to get you a Doctor down on Earth too, in case something happens while you're there, though," Bones ran a hand through his hair, "Anyway, I want yer ass back on this table in four weeks so we can do the amniocentesis and see how the kid's doing. Good luck telling yer parents, Spock, hopefully, Sarek ain't as prone to fainting spells as you are."

Jim laughed, "Don't be silly, Bones, this is Sarek we're talking about!"

The Doctor smiled lopsidedly, "True, true. Anyway… I'm placing your due date between the seventh or ninth of November, Earth time of course, since it'll be easier to calculate. A Vulcan pregnancy is usually a little longer than a Human one by about two months and Amanda's doctor decided to count the weeks like they would on Earth too, because she wanted to prevent confusing her."

"Alright," Jim glanced down at himself, "Bones? When am I supposed to start showing…?"

"It's different for everyone, Jimbo. Some people don't really show until the fifth or sixth month, but since you're so thin I'm guessing you'll have a baby bump soon enough," Bones poked Jim's side gently, "Try to eat a little more. It's not necessary to get fat when you're pregnant, just see that you eat healthy and most of all, that you eat enough."

Jim saluted the Doctor mockingly, "Yes, Sir."

Bones nodded and stood, "Alright, then you're free to go. Call me when you're done freaking Sarek out, yeah?"

"Of course," Jim snickered, "Talk to you later, Bones!"

As they approached the car, Spock sneakily slipped the keys out of Jim's back pocket and sat in the driver's seat. With a pout, Jim got in on the other side, crossing his arms as he huffed, "Cheater."

"I am not."

"Oh sure you're not, Cheater."

"Jim."

"No."

Spock leaned over and kissed his temple, one hand coming to rest on Jim's middle. Jim sighed, turning his head to press his lips to Spock's quickly, "Why can't I ever pretend to be mad at you for more than ten seconds?"

His husband did not answer and simply started the car. Huffing out an annoyed breath, Jim laid his head against Spock's shoulder, draping himself awkwardly over the armrest between them. He was almost asleep, rocked into slumber by the car's gentle swaying, when they arrived at Spock's parents' home. Spock turned off the motor and Jim sat up quickly, blinking owlishly out of the window, "We there yet?"

"Indeed," Spock said quietly, a wave of uncertainty washing over the bond.

"What's wrong?"

"I… do not know how my Father will react to this."

"Neither do I. It'll be alright, Spock, don't worry about it. Besides, Amanda will be there to keep him from going all Vulcan on us," Jim winked at the Vulcan-hybrid, "Now, let's get going!"

They got out of the car, Jim a little quicker than Spock, and walked up towards the front door. Spock rang the doorbell and took a step back, wrapping an arm around Jim's waist. Amanda opened the door, a smile blooming on her full lips when she saw them, "Spock, Jim, why didn't you tell me beforehand that you were coming over?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise visit," Jim grinned, "Can we come in?"

"Of course, you silly boy," she stepped aside, "How about you sit down in the living-room and I'll make us some tea."

"Sure thing, Manda."

Sarek was seated on the couch, a large book lying on his lap, a dark red robe draped over his shoulders. The Vulcan looked up, raising an eyebrow, "I was not aware that you intended on visiting, Spock."

"It was… a spontaneous decision," Spock answered, seating himself on one of the armchairs, while Jim sat down on the armrest, the envelope containing the newest picture of their child clutched in one hand.

Amanda strolled into the room, setting down a tray containing four cups of tea and a teapot, "Jimmy, I already put some sugar in yours, because I know how you hate unsweetened tea, I hope that is alright?"

"Perfect, thanks," Jim took the offered cup and sipped carefully, "It's delicious."

"Why thank you, sweetheart," Amanda laughed, before her demeanour became almost serious, "Is there a specific reason why you are here? You have never just popped up at our doorstep. Not that I would not appreciate if you would do it, because it has been rather quiet since you two moved out."

Jim took a deep breath, licking his lips as he set the teacup down on the coffee table, "Well... to be honest, there is a reason. You remember when we went to see Bones two weeks ago? Well... we were not entirely truthful that it was nothing serious. Today, we went to see Leonard again and... well... here's the result of the tests he did," Jim held out the envelope he had been holding in his hand, almost tight enough to wrinkle the paper cover.

At Amanda's stricken expression, Jim could not help but feel a little bad for deceiving her like this, but it was just too tempting not to fool around a little first. Spock's disapproval seeped into his mind and Jim stealthily moved a hand to pinch Spock's biceps. The Vulcan-hybrid did not even react. Amanda took the envelope from him, her hand shaking slightly as she sat down beside her husband, who immediately moved a hand to place it onto her knee. Carefully, she opened the cover, pulling the picture out slowly.

For a while, it was deathly silent within the living-room.

A second later, Sarek's eyes rolled back and the Vulcan slumped sideways onto the couch in a faint similar to his son, while Amanda jumped to her feet, squealing as she hurried around the coffee-table to hug Jim tightly. Jim laughed, wrapping his arms around the babbling woman, "Whoa, Manda, calm down!"

"You're pregnant! Oh my God, Jimmy, I was so scared! But I knew it! I knew it!"

"Manda-"

"Mother, I believe Father has lost consciousness," Spock piped up.

"What? Again?" she detangled herself from Jim to kneel down beside the couch, gently patting Sarek's cheek to awaken the unconscious Vulcan, "When we found out that I was pregnant with Spock the same thing happened. This time it's not even our child! Vulcans are always logical, sure..."

"Spock fainted too when Bones told us what was going on with me two weeks ago," Jim laughed.

Sarek finally seemed to come back to himself, sitting up slowly as he blinked to clear his vision. His dark eyes landed on Jim, wandered towards the picture lying on the couch beside him, then moved back to stare at Jim, "I apologise, I... had not anticipated this. Congratulations to the both of you."

"Thanks, Sarek," Jim grinned, "I'm sorry for scaring you both."

"Vulcans do not get scared, James," Sarek responded.

"But they do faint, right?" Jim asked innocently, laughing when the tips of Sarek's ears turned a faint, minty green, "Now I at least know where Spock got it from."

Sarek glanced at his son, who averted his gaze with a small shrug, "It is not common for a man to become pregnant upon Vulcan, James. It is only logical to be... surprised."

"True, true. It's not that common on Earth either, as far as I know, it just happens from time to time. But that doesn't make it logical to faint," Jim sat down on Spock's lap, laughing when Amanda flung herself at him again and squeezed him tightly, "Amanda! We're going to squash Spock!"

Behind him, he could feel Spock laugh inaudibly, the sound a mere vibration running through the Vulcan-hybrid's chest, amusement trickling into his mind through their connection and warming him from the inside. Amanda gave a laugh that sounded more like a sob and got off Jim's lap, "Oh dear, Jimmy. I'm sorry, I'm just so happy... oh, we should have taken you to a Doctor to see if you had the gene, Sarek, why didn't we think of doing that? What if it had caused problems, we would have never known until then! I've read about tumour-like growths and-"

"Amanda... please, this is a very joyous moment, it is illogical to fret about things that cannot be changed any longer," Sarek said quietly, "And I do not believe that Spock and James would be appreciative about you frightening them with these kinds of things."

"I'm sorry, it's just... my baby is having a baby!"

"Manda," Jim groaned, blushing brightly, "Don't do that."

She huffed out a shaky giggle, "Alright, sorry. So, how far along are you, Jimmy?"

"Eleven weeks," Jim said sheepishly, "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, I just needed to get my head around the idea that I was... pregnant."

Amanda nodded, her lip wobbling dangerously, before she hid her face with her hands and started to sob. Sarek pulled her against himself, holding her gently as she cried. Jim shifted uncomfortable, unsure of what to do. Maybe he should have broken it to them a little slower. Spock rubbed his side slowly, soothing away the guilt knotting his stomach. It took a while before Amanda managed to gather herself again, but when she had calmed down, she met Jim's gaze with the brightest smile he had ever seen upon her face, "Oh, I'm so happy for you both. Will you stay for dinner? I'll make plomeek soup, I ate it all the time when I was pregnant, it has lots of nutrients inside..."

Jim watched as she stood, still babbling loudly to herself while she walked into the kitchen, before standing to follow her.

A tiny tugging to the bond alarmed him of Spock's confusion, _Jim? Where are you going?_

_I'll just go and keep an eye on Manda. She's a little out of it. Besides, I want to ask her something._

_Ah, yes, I see. _

_Maybe you should talk to your Dad. I've never seen a Vulcan look so shocked before. Hopefully, I didn't cause an irreversible trauma or something! _

Amusement and exasperation filtered through the link. Snickering, Jim entered the kitchen, coming to stand beside Amanda, who was haphazardly stirring the boiling broth within the pot in front of her. Her eyes were still moist and she constantly wiped her sleeve over them. Jim dropped his chin onto her shoulder, "Manda?"

"Hm?" she turned her head, smiling, "Is something wrong?"

"Uh... no. I just... this is going to sound weird, but..."

Amanda lifted an eyebrow at him and, not for the first time, Jim wished he would have more patience so he might learn how to do that too, "But...?"

"Do you think plomeek soup tastes good with chocolate?"

She blinked slowly, then started to giggle heartily, "Oh, Jimmy."

* * *

><p>On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Watch Jim freak out over a needle. Watch Spock freak out over a baby bump.<p>

Question to everyone: I am unsure whether or not I want Jim to have another baby later. I would really appreciate your opinion on that, dear readers :)


	6. Chapter 6: Through The Air

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long. And I'm sorry Between two Worlds is going so slow too, but I promise, I'm working on it :)

Talltree-san: Well, for all that logic, Sarek can be really illogical... And... omg, I never thought about what Vulcan babies wear! Congratulations to your sister :)

Adrianna: I'm glad you like my silly endings ;)

ShayLove: I'm not that wonderful... stop making me blush! No one calls me wonderful! *hides under blanket* But thank you anyway!

meakamaxwell: Of course I like your ideas :) But I think it's already hard enough for Jim to carry one child. They'll have another later. But the haircolour idea... I might use that :)

Kim: Glad you liked the way Jim and Amanda act around each other :) We'll see...

FreetobemsT: Oh dear, poor Jim, I doubt he'd survive the pregnancy! Haha :)

renika0909: I'm writing, I'm writing!

Alrightey. Uhm, thank you all for the awesome reviews. It's fascinating how many people like this story. I mean, wtf. Nothing even happened yet! :) Anyway, a thanks to T'Arrah, who beta-ed the chapter. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 6: through the air

The next 3.9 weeks passed rather uneventful. Apart from Jim's ever aching pelvis, the younger man seemed perfectly healthy, even the morning sickness had abated. Leonard had called them shortly after they had returned home from their visit to Spock's parents, apologising for the late call and for forgetting to explain why Jim's hips were paining him like he had promised to do. Apparently, Jim's hips, which had always been of a rather feminine broadness, were moving apart to form a cradle for the child. Jim had been less than thrilled, saying that he would like to wear his pants a while longer. Leonard had merely laughed and said that the difference would not be overly noticeable and that he could keep his trousers on until the child grew too big for him to wear them anymore.

Spock unlocked the front door, stepping into their home and closing the door again after himself. It was quiet, the chatter of the TV the only noise. Slipping out of his shoes, Spock made his way into the living-room. Books and paper sheets littered the coffee-table and a calculator had fallen to the ground. Jim was curled up on his side upon the couch, a pillow clutched against his middle as he slept peacefully. Spock leaned over the back of the sofa, brushing a hand through Jim's tangled locks.

Jim had not been sleeping well the past four days, complaining about being unable to find a comfortable position. Spock was relieved that Jim was finally able to sleep now.

Sitting down on the small space between Jim's feet and the armrest of the couch, Spock reached out to stroke Jim's calf carefully, reaching out to turn the volume of the TV down a little. He settled against the backrest and stretched out his legs underneath the coffee table. It was already past midnight and the meeting had been a rather tiring one, but at least the issue whether or not he would get the job as an Ambassador had been resolved. Spock would tell Jim about this tomorrow; the younger man deserved to sleep.

Exhausted, Spock let his head drop against the backrest of the couch and closed his eyes.

..._Warm rain fell from the dawn painted sky, smearing the blue colour covering the rocks which jutted from t__he ankle-deep water like the knobs of a human spine. A swarm of green and blue fish swam through the air, leaving trails of coloured paint in their wake. A soft whisper, carried by the gentle breeze rushing across the landscape, tickled Spock's ears and he__ turned to gaze at the Anchor, the golden pearls glowing brightly, more than usual and whenever the long, thin branches moved, the whisper would become louder._

_Spock slowly waded through the water toward the large, willow-like tree, eyes fixed on the slen__der silhouette of Jim standing between the large roots that kept their Anchor planted firmly between their minds._

_Jim greeted him with a soft smile. Spock stepped closer and only then did he notice the swirling paint circling Jim's navel, pulsating with a__ golden light similar to the pearls growing on the branches of the willow tree._

"_I fou__nd this when I entered our mind__scape...," Jim said softly, reaching out to take Spock's hand, a faint shimmer engulfing their joined appendages, "Come, look."_

_With gent__le tugs and pulls, Jim guided Spock towards the thick, sturdy trunk in the centre of the pavilion the willow's branches formed. There, at the foot of the tree, sat a tiny sapling, stretching itself upwards as if to reach for the pearls swaying above it._

"_Curious," Spock whispered, kneeling down, delicately running a finger over the fragile plant growing safely within the shelter the willow provided, "Is it a part of our Anchor?"_

"_I believe so," Jim pointed at the minuscule sphere, barely bigger than a __berry, shining on one of the tiny twigs, "Look, it's like our pearls."_

_Spock nodded, settling against one of the curling roots beside him as Jim sat down to be closer to him. The willow kept whispering and, now that he was so close, Spock finally realised__ that it was not the wind rustling the branches and causing the pearls to clink together, but it was the Anchor itself, creating a strange lullaby for the sapling that grew at its feet..._

Spock awoke to a warm body crawling over him, settling on his torso and planting a sharp chin onto his sternum. Slowly, he opened his eyes, blinking down at his husband, who had draped himself over him like a blanket, grinning brightly at him, "Good morning, Jim."

"Morning," Jim drawled, shuffling up to kiss Spock's nose, "When did you come home?"

"It was approximately thirty-four minutes after midnight," Spock answered quietly, "Have you slept well?"

"Yeah, luckily I did. I kinda dozed off while trying to figure out how to finish my homework for the Academy," Jim sighed deeply, "So, what took so long that you came home so late?"

"The council was discussing whether or not I would receive the position as an Ambassador."

"...And? Did you?"

"I did."

Jim gave a triumphant shout and clumsily pressed their lips together. A surge of warmth pulsed through them and, for a moment, they threatened to tumble into their own mindscape, before Spock pulled away to look at Jim. Bright blue eyes twinkled back at him, narrowing with joy, as the younger man grinned. For a few minutes, they simply breathed, unmoving, eyes locked as the broad grin on Jim's face gentled into something tender. Leaning into the hand Jim placed against Spock's cheek, he lifted an eyebrow, effectively shattering the moment, when it caused Jim to laugh. Spock shook his head, amused by the way Jim buried his face in his shirt to muffle the snickers falling from his lips.

Finally, Jim rolled off him, standing and immediately began to stretch, arms rising up, fingers spread, back arched almost unnaturally as Jim's head dropped backwards, exposing his slender neck. His shirt rid up and Spock was transfixed by the sight of Jim's abdomen, sitting up as he kept staring.

A slight bump, sitting low on the usually so flat expanse, gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the windows. It sat there, in the middle of Jim's stomach, so innocently conveying the knowledge that had been lounging in the very centre of Spock's mind, the one stating that the most precious being in his life was carrying a child. _Their child_. A tiny, living thing that had been created by the both of them, safely tucked into the warmth of Jim's womb as it grew. It was as if Spock's brain only now truly understood the meaning of it all.

They were going to be _parents_.

"Spock?"

They would be caring for a small child in a few months, a child that depended on them. A wave of panic swept through him and his chest grew tight.

"Spock!"

What if the child was born with a severe handicap because of his already faulty DNA? Certainly a hybrid's chromosomes would cause some sort of trouble. The fact that he had not turned out sterile was a miracle in itself. Would he be just as demanding as his Father had been? Would the child be accepted by its peers? Probably not, it would be more Human than Vulcan and considering what had happened to him, a half-Vulcan, it was only logical to assume that they would be more violent, since he had dared to further dilute the Vulcan bloodline-

"_Spock_!"

Two warm, thin hands cradled his face, a pair of cerulean eyes stared at him, worry and confusion swirling in their depths. Only then did Spock realise that he had begun to hyperventilate, "Hey, hey, hey. Spock, calm down. Deep breaths. Very good."

Slowly, Spock felt his tense muscles relax and his chest expand regularly once more, "I... I apologise."

"What the hell, Spock? Shouldn't I be the one freaking out over here?" Jim laughed softly, a hint of hysteria lingering in his voice, "Seriously, Spock, what was that just now?"

Spock kept silent, averting his gaze.

"...You panicked," Jim stated, sliding onto Spock's lap, "Don't look so surprised, yeah, I actually noticed that. I also know what made you panic, your shielding totally failed you at that moment. What I don't understand is why you would think all that weird stuff."

Spock sighed, leaning his forehead against Jim's shoulder, "I do not know, Jim. It simply occurred to me that we will have to take responsibility for a child soon. I am... unsure whether or not I will be a good enough Father for it. It has been tormenting me for weeks and now that..." Trailing off, he moved his hand, resting his palm on the small bulge on Jim's stomach.

Jim's slender fingers weaved themselves between Spock's and squeezed, "That's what triggered this?"

Spock nodded. "Jeez, Spock. If that baby bump freaked you out, I don't want to know what'll happen once Baby starts getting bigger."

A smile tugged at the corner's of Spock's mouth, "Jim."

The younger man chuckled, "Alright, alright. Let's eat breakfast. We got another meeting with our favourite, grumpy Doctor scheduled in two hours."

Spock inclined his head, "Very well."

He was rewarded with another kiss to his nose, before Jim hopped off his lap and swaggered into the kitchen to start breakfast. The next two hours passed quickly, considering that Jim had suddenly gotten very... clingy, while in the bathroom and refused to let them leave until he was satisfied. Since they were in a hurry, however, Spock had had no problem with picking his husband up and carrying him into the bedroom to dress him like the petulant child he was currently being.

Due to this, they reached Leonard's office 18.6 minutes after their scheduled appointment. Nurse Chapel ushered them into the room where Leonard was already waiting for them, tapping his foot as he crossed his arms, "Shouldn't you've been here twenty minutes ago?"

"Sorry, Bones," Jim chirped, hopping onto the table, "So, what are we doing today?"

"Are you suffering from memory loss? Your amniocentesis is scheduled for today, kiddo," Bones pointed towards the tray where a large, long needle lay waiting.

Spock heard Jim swallow audibly, "Oh."

Leonard's gaze became soft and he gently manoeuvred Jim to lie down flat, "Just relax, okay? You'll be fine. Both of you."

"Can Spock stay?"

"Sure," Leonard turned away to ready the needle and Jim reached out to Spock.

Tenderly, Spock let his fingers wrap around Jim's hand, watching as Leonard unbuttoned Jim's shirt, disinfected the area around his navel with iodine and poured a glob of gel onto Jim's abdomen, activating the ultrasound machine to search for a spot to insert the needle without hurting the child. It took 13.2 minutes before Leonard ceased his search and reached for the needle.

Jim tensed visibly when the needle touched his stomach and grimaced when it sunk into the skin, piercing through flesh and muscle. Spock watched as the needle appeared on the screen, not even close to touching the tiny child. The procedure did not take long, barely a minute. When the hollow needle was finally being slowly withdrawn Jim gave a soft whimper as the skin was pulled upwards slightly with the motion. Feeling nauseous, Spock turned away, swallowing convulsively to keep the bile from rising into his mouth.

A warm hand patted his shoulder and an amused voice spoke, just as he began to calm down again, "It's over, Spock, it's alright to look again."

Spock turned his head slowly, seeing Jim grin brightly at him, a tiny tear wavering in the corner of his eye, clearly one elicited by the pain he had felt when the needle was being removed. His abdomen had been wiped off, leaving it glistening wetly.

"Some Vulcan you are, Spock," Jim laughed, "Bones is in the back room, he'll be back in a few minutes. He said it'll take about four days until we get the results. Did you know that it took up to two weeks for the results to finish back in the twenty-first century? I can't imagine what that must have been like for the Mothers. Having to wait for that long..."

Spock nodded, not daring to open his mouth yet.

Leonard marched back into the room 6.7 minutes later, smiling lopsidedly, "That went rather well. Since we did the amniocentesis rather early, I can't do the ultrasound to detect any malformations which cannot be identified by the amnio, because Baby is still not developed enough for me to see anything out of the ordinary. Which means we're finished for today."

"Okay... so... when do you want us back?"

"I'll come over to tell ya the test results and after that... in about five weeks or maybe even later, depending on where you are. Amanda told me Spock got the job as Ambassador and I'm guessing you'll be down on Earth soon enough, so, once you're down there, I'll call around and see who can take over the job of keeping an eye on the little hobgoblin 'till you're back."

"Thanks, Bones," Jim wrapped his arms around the older man, before slipping off the table, staggering slightly, "This thing is way too high."

"Maybe you're just too short, kiddo. Nice baby bump, by the way."

"Shut up."

"Is that a way to talk to your best friend?"

"Bones. Shut up."

"Alright, alright. Well, since both you and Baby Hobgoblin are healthy, you're free to go. Keep taking your copper supplements and promise me to eat regularly. You ain't putting on any weight apart from what the baby weighs, which is fine since the baby's healthy, but I don't want you to eat less than you should. And for God's sake... as soon as you're home, lie down somewhere and rest. Avoid all strenuous activities. The amniocentesis went well, but there's still a risk that something might go wrong if you exert yourself now. "

"Okay," Jim nodded, buttoning up his shirt, "Strenuous activities? Aw, Bones, you're not telling me-"

"_Yes_. That means _no sex_."

"Dammit... fine."

Leonard nodded approvingly, "Good. If your stomach starts to bruise slightly, don't worry about it, but as soon as you get a fever over 100 F or start to have bad cramps you call me, alright? Good boy. Now, off you go, I have other patients waiting."

"You're such a charming doctor, Bones, " Jim huffed, pushing his palm against his hip in a gesture that had become all too familiar with Spock in the past weeks. It was a sign that the younger man's pelvis had begun to ache again, probably from having to lie flat on the uncomfortable examination table.

Leonard frowned, "Yer hips hurtin'?"

"Yeah."

The Doctor nodded, lifting Jim's shirt to palpate the jutting hipbones, before sighing and lifting Jim back onto the table without warning. Ignoring the indignant squeak, Leonard spoke again, "On a scale from one to ten, how bad is it?"

"About... a three, maybe? It's not that bad, it's just really annoying and uncomfortable."

"Alright... could you pull your pants down a little to that I can take a look at your joints? I know it's awkward... thanks, kiddo," Leonard began his examination, "Hm... the skin over your right hip joint is heated and a little swollen, meaning that there's an inflammation beneath. Could you lift your leg?"

Jim gritted his teeth as he complied.

"Okay, back down...," Leonard activated the scanner embedded in the table, quickly punching in Jim's data, waiting for the computer to take a scan and do a quick comparison with the databases, "It looks to me like a mild form of PGP, pelvic girdle pain. Your body is preparing for a child and to make room for it, it releases a hormone that softens the ligaments holding your pelvis together. It's nothing unusual, but certainly something that can cause severe discomfort if it worsens."

"Is there a way to make it better?" Jim asked with a sigh.

"There's not a lot I can do to help... try putting a heating pad on the areas that hurt the most and put a pillow between your knees while sleeping on your side to keep the hips aligned."

"Okay... thanks, Bones," Jim flushed, sitting up and fumbled to pull his jeans back up, buttoning them quickly, "Most awkward day of my life..."

"Not true, I remember an eighteen-year-old moron lying on this same table, crying because he accidentally sat on the hot stove."

"Oh... yeah, right. Second most awkward day of my life then," Jim grinned lopsidedly and held his arms out towards Spock, "Carry me."

Spock rolled his eyes upwards briefly, gathering his husband up. Leonard shook his head, "Keep an eye on him, Spock and if anything happens, you know how to reach me."

"Thank you, Leonard," Spock inclined his head.

"Yeah, yeah, now get going already."

Without further ado, Spock marched out of the office. As soon as they reached the car, Jim crawled into the passenger seat, curling up against the synthetic leather before promptly dozing off. Spock shook his head and started the car. He doubted that the car seat was a comfortable place to sleep on. Considering that his pelvis was most likely not being supportive of the position James had contorted himself into, Spock decided to ignore caution and merely tried to get home as soon as possible, not wanting to worsen the already delicate condition James was in.

Arriving rather quickly, Spock did not even think to wake the sleeping Human and simply carried him inside and up the stairs into their bedroom. Carefully, he lowered Jim onto the mattress, divesting him of his clothes and pulled the shirt that Jim had stolen from him to sleep in over the younger man's head.

Jim groaned quietly, eyes slitting open, "We home yet...?"

"Yes, Jim. You are in bed," Spock gently manoeuvred Jim's arms through the sleeves, tugging the shirt down to cover his torso.

"M'kay..."

Spock grabbed the large, soft pillow Jim had taken to sleep again and pushed it between the younger man's legs like Leonard had described. Jim sighed contently, raising an arm to bat at Spock's chest, "You comin' to bed too?"

"Later, Jim, I have a few things to take care of first," Spock answered softly.

"Oh... can I get a kiss goodnight?"

Spock kissed Jim's sleepily parted lips tenderly, "Sleep well, James."

"Baby wants a kiss too," Jim mumbled.

Spock's gaze softened as he leaned down to brush his lips against Jim's abdomen.

* * *

><p>On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Bones finally has the test results. Will the baby be alright? Is it a boy or a girl? Will Jim ever find his missing sock?<p>

Find out whenever I post the next chapter! [Why am I doing this?]


	7. Chapter 7: Win Or Lose It

Hey guys!

I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to update, I had an exhausting month and additionally got dragged to a psychiatrist by my Mom.

Kim:Of course, I should have thought of that :) Glad you enjoyed Spock's freak out and even Jim's petulant behaviour. He's around... 22... 23 right now, I think... I wrote this crap down somewhere...

Talltree-san: I'm so glad you didn't crash your car! Jim has yet to steal Spock's shirts :P Aye, you don't want to have the girdle thing. My aunt had it and she could not even roll over when she reached eight months. ;)

meakamaxwell: Glad you liked it and... Leonard just needs to get laid, I think. ;)

ShayLove: No one gets hurt, don't freak out, sweety. Thank you for the cake!

Alrightey. Hope you enjoy the chapter. There's not much plot... But hey, I'm writing this story because it distracts me from the reality of life. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 7: win or lose it

Four days later, Jim was lounging on the couch in front of the TV, skipping through the channels as he tried to distract himself from the nervousness coiling in his stomach. Most of it was Spock's, filtering through the bond and refusing to dissipate. It was tiring and coupled with the Vulcan's overly protective behaviour, it was becoming downright annoying.

He just wanted Bones to call already.

Jim reached out for the apple slices on the coffee table, dipping it into the small bowl filled with ketchup, before lifting it to his mouth. Although he was not eating more than usual, his cravings had become weirder by the day. Just this morning, he had caught himself smearing mustard onto a piece of cucumber bread, before sprinkling it with plomeek root flakes. Needless to say, Spock had been less than thrilled to watch him eat and decided to go food shopping on his own.

Jim slid another ketchup laden apple slice into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Maybe he should make some plomeek soup for Spock later as a kind of peace offering. Sighing softly, Jim slipped a hand underneath his shirt to rub the warm bump on his abdomen. Since he had started to show, he felt like his belly rounded out more and more each day. Which was, of course, completely illogical, as Spock would say.

Huffing out a quiet laugh, Jim popped the next apple into his mouth.

He needed to search for his green sock too. Somehow, it had gotten lost the last time Spock did the laundry and now Jim had been mourning the loss of his favourite sock. Maybe the monster living behind the washing machine got it and dragged it off to Raggedy Clothes Town or something like that. Yeah. That sounded even less logical than his theory about the fact that there were two ridges instead of only one on Spock's-

The front door opened and Jim sat up, smiling brightly at his husband. "Welcome back, Mister Grayson-Kirk."

Spock lifted an eyebrow at him, dropping the key onto the coffee table, before reaching into one of the paper bags and pulling a heating pad out to set it down on Jim's stomach. "What are you eating, Jim...?"

"Apple slices with ketchup. You want some?"

Spock's paled and shook his head. "No, thank you."

Jim snickered, dunking an apple into the ketchup and stuffed it into his mouth. "Too bad, it's delicious."

"I highly doubt you would find it delicious were you not pregnant, Jim." Spock wandered into the kitchen to put away the other things he had bought. "Have you taken your copper supplements today?"

"Yep, after finishing my cucumber bread." Jim snorted when a suppressed gagging sound came from the kitchen. "You know, for a Vulcan, you really have a weak stomach. Seriously, Spock, it's like my morning sickness all over again only this time, it's you who's nau-"

A loud retch alerted him to the fact that it had become too much for Spock and Jim grimaced when he heard him vomiting into the sink. Cautiously, he stood and made his way into the kitchen, coming to stand beside his heaving husband to rub his shoulder blades. "Okay, let me guess. The bond is a little screwed up because of the pregnancy and your constant worrying corroded your shields. Because of that, my morning sickness was accidentally transferred over to you. That's why I've been fine the past days, right?"

Spock nodded shakily.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jim pressed a tiny kiss to Spock's sweaty temple and turned on the water to rinse out the sink. "You can be such an idiot, Spock."

"I apologise."

"Yeah, yeah," Jim pushed Spock over to the couch, urging him to sit, before clearing the coffee table to lessen the chance for another random bout of puking.

Bones was going to have a field day with this. Jim put the apple slices and ketchup into the fridge before grabbing a glass to fill it with water. Marching back towards the sofa, he found Spock sprawled out on his stomach over the entire length of the couch, one foot dangling over the arm rest. Shaking his head, Jim set the glass down and lifted Spock's torso somewhat to slip into the small space between the other arm rest and Spock himself. The Vulcan huffed and carefully rested his head against Jim's stomach. Jim ran his fingers through Spock's tangled hair, calming the turmoil and sifting through their bond's twined tendrils to find the source of the Vulcan's discomfort. It turned out to be quite a difficult task, since the bond had thickened with new strings and twining, yarn-like threads, pulsating like a heartbeat. The twine he was searching for was buried deep within the confines of the bond itself. It was fairly new, judging from the almost whitish light it gave off, knotted and writhing weakly as if in pain. Jim guessed that the knot kept the nausea from being divided between the two of them.

Diligently, he worked on opening the knot, shushing Spock when he began to squirm."I'm almost done, Spock, just a little longer... how could you let it get this tangled up? Geez..."

"My mind was occupied with other things, I had not thought about examining the bond." Spock pushed Jim's shirt upwards and nuzzled his face against the soft skin beneath, nose dipping into the belly button, prompting a laugh from the blonde.

"Don't do that, Spock, you know I'm ticklish!"

Jim had finally managed to open the knot, watching the tendril unfurl and stretch. Spock heaved a sigh. "Thank you, Jim."

"It was hurting you, wasn't it? Damn it, Spock, we've been married for five years now, don't you think you could at least try to communicate with me?" Jim leaned down, practically folding himself in half to bite Spock's ear. "There was a huge knot in one of the threads. What if it had gotten worse? What if it had affected our Baby?"

Spock was spared from having to answer, when the comm. unit started to beep. They scrambled off the couch, almost falling in the process and dashed towards the comm. As soon as Spock hit the answer button, Bones' face appeared on the screen. "_That was quick_. _Where ya camping by the comm., or somethin'_?"

Jim laughed, shaking his head, "Do you have the results?"

"_Yep. Baby is perfectly healthy. Twenty-five percent Vulcan, no genetic disorders, chromosome abnormalities or neural tube defects; everything is as it should be_."

Jim felt Spock practically deflate with relief and he would not have been surprised if he had fallen to the ground in a dramatic display of gladness.

"_Alright, since we cleared that up... ya wanna know whether it's a boy or a girl?_"

"Oh." Jim shared a quick look with Spock who nodded. "Yes, please."

"_Right. It's a boy. Congratulations, you two,_" Bones grinned, "_If he's anything like you, Jim, you'll have one heck of a time trying to get him to sit still. I don't envy ya two at all._"

"Heh, yeah... hey, Bones, is it normal for Vulcan pairs that both partner's experience pregnancy symptoms?"

"_If the bond is strong enough, yeah. Happens with Human pairs too, due to the mirror neurons in the brain, but it's a very rare condition called Couvade syndrome. Why? Don't tell me Spock threw up or something._"

"He did. I was wondering why I wasn't throwing up at all and when he did, I found a knot in one of the bond's threads," Jim nudged Spock's side, "That moron didn't tell me."

"_Why am I not surprised? Try to take it easy ya two and Jim, lie down, it's a little too obvious that your hip is hurtin' ya again. Oh, and I found a Doctor for you on Earth. He's an old friend of mine who was really happy to hear from me again. I'm gonna give ya his address before ya leave for Earth, whenever that is. Jimmy, yer next appointment is in about four weeks, no matter if you're on Earth or still here on Vulcan... one second-,_" Bones turned his head away, looking off to the side, frowning as he listened to someone speaking of screen, "_Okay, Christine... alright ya two, I gotta go again, I've got other patients to attend to. Have a nice day and call me if somethin' comes up or if ya have questions._"

"Bye, Bones!"

The Doctor gave a mock salute and the screen went black.

Spock looped his arms around Jim, lifting him slightly as he embraced him. Chuckling, Jim kissed Spock's nose, "We're having a boy, Spock."

The Vulcan-hybrid's mouth curled into a rare smile. He pressed his lips to Jim's enthusiastically, before he pulled away to grimace."You taste of apples and ketchup."

Jim snorted, lifting his legs to wrap them around Spock's waist, his bump pressing against Spock's stomach muscles. "Well, I'm really not sorry about that, sweetheart."

"Jim." Spock nuzzled their noses together.

"What? It's delicious! Don't knock it till you've tried it!"

Shaking his head, Spock moved back over to the couch to sit down. When the Vulcan-hybrid was settled, Jim wiggled down to seat himself firmly on his husband's lap, a large grin on his face. "We gotta tell Amanda. She'll throw a fit if we don't."

"Indeed." Spock leaned back. "But I believe we can do this at a later time."

"Yeah... we could drive over too. I think she'd be delighted to see us again. We've been kind of neglecting your parents for the past three weeks..." Jim furrowed his brows, leaning forward to bury his face against Spock's neck, inhaling the spicy scent of Spock's aftershave. "She's gonna be so mad at us."

He bit Spock's neck, then sat up properly again to glare at his husband. "You know, I'm still mad that you're able to grow a beard and chest hair, while I'm stuck looking like a twelve-year-old."

"You do not look like a twelve-year-old, Jim. Believe me." Spock's hand slid down to his bottom, squeezing his left cheek gently.

"You're such a horny bastard," Jim snickered, "Thanks for the heating-pad, by the way, it was getting a little hard to find a comfortable position to sit in."

"You are welcome, Jim." Spock shifted, moving to lie down, pulling Jim along until he was sprawled out on top of the Vulcan-hybrid.

Jim had to move sideways to keep the pressure off his abdomen like Bones had told him to. Otherwise, his uterus would put pressure on the aorta the inferior vena cava that supplies the blood for the lower body and, in this case, the baby. He sighed heavily. Being pregnant was a horribly complicated thing to be. There was so much you had to do, so much you had to be careful about. Additionally, he was learning things about his own body that he really did not care about. And having an over-protective husband was not an easy thing to work with either, it was like having a physical shadow that kept interrupting simple things like cooking and getting in his way, when he wanted to tend to the garden. Jim was aware that Spock was trying to better himself and that it was merely a primal instinct that urged him to keep his bondmate and the unborn child safe.

Spock tilted his head, lifting an eyebrow. "What is it you are thinking about?"

"I'm wondering where my second green sock disappeared to," Jim answered. "Do you think we have a sock-eating monster in our washing machine?"

"I highly doubt that a living being could survive within a washing machine, Jim. The sock may have landed in a corner of the laundry room or slipped behind the washing machine itself."

"You're no fun, Mr. Logical," Jim pouted, sitting up again in a swift move that he regretted almost instantly, when his pelvis gave a painful twang, "Crap... ah, how about we go and visit your parents now? I'm sure Amanda will feed you something that helps with the nausea. Don't look at me like that, I know you're feeling queasy, the knot is gone, remember? And it's _my_ not-really-morning sickness you're experiencing anyway."

"Jim-"

"Nope, I'm going to rub that in your face until you stop being such an idiot." Jim smacked a kiss to Spock's cheek, before slipping off his husband to walk into the anteroom. "You coming?"

"Jim, you are not wearing any socks."

"Oh, yeah. Could you get me a pair from upstairs?"

He heard Spock sigh and stand up. "Yes, Jim."

After a long discussion about who should drive, Jim put his foot down and told Spock that he would not enter this car through any door but the one on the driver's side. After a few more threats, including a rather low blow regarding the child's safety and Spock's currently compromised health, the Vulcan-hybrid had finally given in and handed over the keys.

Apparently, Jim handled nausea better than Spock. While he felt an unpleasant twinge in his stomach from time to time, he had to pull over twice for Spock to get out of the car and throw up. By the time they arrived at Spock's parent's house, the hybrid was almost asleep, mouth slack and head resting against the side window.

Jim gently shook his husband's shoulder, "Spock? We're here."

Spock nodded, blinking blearily as he opened the car's door, slipping out with the elegance of a tired slug. Jim shook his head as he tugged his bondmate towards the door. He pushed the electronic doorbell and almost yelped when the door was ripped open almost instantly. "Jimmy!"

Amanda grinned at him, eyes twinkling as she reached out to embrace both her son and Jim. She ushered them inside and into the living-room, practically forcing Jim to take a seat. While she busied herself with fetching Kray-juice and cookies, Jim pulled at Spock's wrist to get him to sit. The hybrid plopped down beside him, pale faced and eyes unfocused. "You look awful, Spock."

"I was never aware of how you must have felt every morning, Jim," Spock said quietly, "I apologise for the following sentence, but I feel the need to express it. I am very grateful that I am unable to become pregnant."

Jim refrained from punching Spock even if his sole reason for it was that he wanted to avoid another session of projectile vomiting. "It's okay."

Amanda returned, carrying a bowl of cookies. She set the large container down onto the coffee-table between the jug of Kray-juice and the stack of napkins. "Well, what brings you two here?"

Jim smiled up at her. "We just wanted to tell you that Bones called us with the results of my amniocentesis and that your grandson is perfectly healthy."

Blindsided, Amanda did not speak for a few moments before a smile etched itself across her face. "A boy! Oh dear, I have to- Sarek! _Sarek_!"

She ran from the room, her calls echoing through the large house for a while. Jim shook his head in a display of exasperated fondness. That woman was going to give herself a heart-attack one of these days. Spock's head came to rest on Jim's shoulder and Jim wondered if it was a good idea to come here to visit instead of simply calling Amanda. Patting Spock's hand, he pressed a kiss to the black mop of hair tickling his chin. "We're not gonna stay long, alright? How about you lie down and get some rest, I'll handle your Mom."

Spock did not answer outright, merely draped himself a little over Jim's side and covered the small bulge on Jim's stomach with his broad palm. A tiny grin blossomed on Jim's face as he laid his own hand over Spock's.

Amanda came rushing back into the room, face red from exertion an, judging from the way she kept tugging at her braid, embarrassment. "I'm such an idiot. Sarek is at a council meeting. I'll tell him later."

Jim snorted. "You're crazy, Manda."

"I know, I know," she quipped, sitting down on the edge of the coffee-table. "Goodness, Spock, you look like death warmed over."

"Illogical, Mother. No one would care to warm me if I were dead."

"Oh shut up, you know what I mean." Amanda reached out to rest the knuckles of her dainty hand against Spock's forehead. "You're clammy... are you ill?"

"He was sick three times today," Jim explained, "The bond produced a new tendril and it's screwing with Spock a little."

Manda laughed, eyes watering with mirth. "Oh dear, Sarek and I had the same problem. You should have seen his face when he woke up at five in the morning and immediately threw up all over himself. I don't think he has ever looked that mortified before. Probably the most hilarious thing that happened while he was affected by the link was when he started to put salsa over _everything_ he ate. It got a little exhausting to make salsa everyday just because he _needed_ to eat it. I know what cravings can be like, but Sarek was extreme. If there was no salsa, he would not eat. It was like dealing with a small child. Luckily, it wore off after a few weeks and I hope it'll be the same for you two. Having to care for a whiny Vulcan husband is not the best way to spend your time while pregnant, believe me."

"I can imagine." Jim snickered, rubbing Spock's back with his free hand. "Spock can't stomach my cravings at all."

"He's always been a little picky when it came to food."

"That is not true, Mother."

"Oh, don't be such a pouty-face.

"Mother..." Spock seemed to give up and shifted to stretch out on the couch, head planted firmly on Jim's thigh while his feet were pushed against the armrest.

"Yeah, well, I think it has to do with the fact that apple slices and ketchup are a little... too exotic."

Manda doubled over with laughter. "Oh, Jimmy! You're going all out, huh?"

"What? It's scrumptious. You two just have no taste," Jim drawled.

"Apple slices, Jim. With ketchup." Amanda lifted an eyebrow, a smirk curling the corners of her mouth. "My cravings were at least edible to other people!"

"Pshaw," Jim huffed, then stilled, frowning down at his stomach.

He swore he just felt- _ah_. There it was again. A tiny flutter just to the side of his belly button, like a feather brushing across his insides. Jim licked his lips, ignoring the confused stares he received as he concentrated on the strange sensation. Was that the Baby moving?

"Jimmy?" Manda's slender hand reached out to touch his belly. "Can you feel him moving?"

"I... I think so. It feels a little like butterflies in my stomach. Is that normal?"

"Perfectly alright, although people who are pregnant for the first time usually don't feel anything until around... twenty weeks, I think. I felt Spock doing cartwheels around eighteen weeks or so. You're rather thin so I guess it's only logical that you'd sense it a little earlier." Amanda poked his ribs playfully. "Are you eating enough, Jimmy?"

"Bones said my metabolism is too high, that's why I'm not putting on any weight." Jim shrugged. "But the Baby is healthy and I've not fainted from malnutrition yet either. I'm eating enough, don't worry."

Manda shook her head. "Nothing but trouble with you boys."

"Hey, I said I'm eating enough!" Jim whined, then sobered up a little when he felt a tiny poke in his abdomen, sharper than before but not unpleasant. "Say... can you feel Baby moving, Spock?"

The Vulcan-hybrid shook his head, nose brushing against the baby bump. "It is too early, Jim."

"Oh." Jim was a little sad that Spock was unable to share this particular part of the pregnancy with him yet. "Too bad, it feels really funny. It's like he's trying to tickle me."

Spock huffed out a warm breath against Jim's stomach and he could have sworn he felt the Baby flutter in response.

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><p>On the next episode of Spock Hunters: Spock and Jim finally leave for Earth. Will they like their new, temporary home? And why is there a kitten sitting on the coffee-table?<p>

I should stop writing these things. :)


	8. Chapter 8: House of MakeBelieve

Alright, guys, again, really sorry for not updating for so long. I wanted to post this thing sooner, like... two days ago, but there was a sunstroke incident and yeah...

Anyway, I hope no one will hate me for not updating, University was more important :)

Talltree-san: Guh, sorry it made you nauseous! But I'm glad you liked the chapter :)

Adrianna: It's okay, you don't have to review all the time, haha :)

meakamaxwell: *chuckles* Yep, time to think about painting the nursery, but we'll see what Jim and Spock do with it ;) As for Bones... uh... Bones getting his own sexy Vulcan? Hmm...

ShayLove: Glad you enjoyed it, sugar. :) An especially big sorry to you, I know you freak out as much as ViBookWorm sometimes when I update... :P

EverlastingWinterofDiscontent: Updated (duh)! :D

Okay guys, this thing is unbetaed, I tried to find all the errors, but I'm still a little dizzy, so... I hope you enjoy it anyway!

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 8: house of make-believe

Approximately five weeks later, Spock received his first assignment as an Ambassador. Two weeks previous, he had taken a small trip to Earth with his Mother to acquaint himself with his surroundings and the people he would be working with in addition to finding a place for James and him to stay. Needless to say, Jim had not been very keen on being left alone for an entire week, but Spock had managed to sway the younger man into forgiving him by bringing back a cooler filled with vanilla ice cream.

But of course Spock should have known that not everything would go as smoothly as he had planned. On the day of departure they had somehow managed to oversleep and were already been running late, only realising that they needed to inform the Doctor that they were leaving for Earth when they were half-way to the front door. To their surprise, Leonard had reacted with fond exasperation instead of the expected anger. Spock had a suspicion that it had to do with Jim's ever growing abdomen and the slight glow that seemed to radiate from his husband's skin. It did not only wake a primal, over-protective streak within him, but it made his Father's gaze soften whenever Jim decided to pay Spock's parents a visit. While Jim had spoken to McCoy, Spock had decided to check if they had remembered they had everything they needed with them and found that Jim had forgotten to pack half of those things necessary including his toothbrush, leaving him to repack their suitcases only an hour before they had to be at the shuttle bay.

It was a downright miracle that they managed to arrive on Earth without further troubles.

The house they were to live in for the next three weeks was seated in a rather quiet neighbourhood and Spock was sure it was what his Mother would prefer to live in. It was not overly big, the overall architecture was what he would call outdated and Jim would fondly describe as vintage. Jim had managed to open the door, leaving the key in the lock as he ran into the house, leaving Spock to empty the trunk of their rental car. Spock sighed, dragging their suitcases over to the porch, listening to Jim screaming and laughing inside their new home. Spock believed that, sometimes, the hormones wracking through Jim's body caused his brain to short-circuit. There was no other logical explanation for the strange outbursts that kept peppering their life.

Finally, Spock had managed to close the door behind him, key dangling between his teeth because his hands were busy balancing the suitcases. Grunting, he pulled his burden into the living-room, dropping everything onto the ground, before sitting down on the generous couch. Jim came swaggering in through the open kitchen, a broad grin on his face. "I love this place. It's really big and there's a huge tub in the bathroom!"

"I am pleased that you like it here, Jim." Spock ran a hand through his hair, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth in response to Jim's exuberant joy.

Jim plopped down on the synthetic leather sofa beside Spock, drawing his legs up as he curled into Spock's side. For a while, they simply sat, breathing into the silence. Spock turned his head to look at Jim, eyes dropping to the round belly beneath the younger man's shirt. After Jim had reached eighteen weeks and his abdomen began to become more and more pronounced, he had started to wear Spock's shirts around the house. When going out, he usually wore formfitting t-shirts that would stretch to accommodate the growing womb. Spock was almost sure that Jim was subconsciously trying to show off his pregnancy.

Sometimes, when Jim thought himself to be alone, Spock would catch the younger man stroking the curve of his stomach, smiling down at it so tenderly that it caused an odd squeezing sensation within the confines of Spock's chest. He wondered if Jim was able to feel the child's mental development, if their son was able to link himself to his parents yet. At night, when Jim was already fast asleep and buried firmly against his side, he would dip into their shared mindscape, diving through the warmth and delicate colours, searching until he reached the tiny ball of tightly wound yarn that had seated itself in the very core of their bond. It pulsated, like a heartbeat, like something waiting to unfurl and grow. He had yet to tell Jim about his discovery, selfishly keeping it to himself for the time being, wanting to have at least a tiny part of their child that Jim was not aware of.

Reaching out, he tugged the tight, blue shirt upwards to reveal the smooth skin beneath. A thin, brownish line had drawn itself vertically up the lower curve, fading into the usual golden tint of Jim's skin as soon as it passed the younger man's navel. Jim's slender hand grasped Spock's, guiding it to lie flat on the younger man's stomach.

A tiny kick greeted Spock. Then another.

The feeling itself was almost terrifying in its strangeness. Since their son was still so small, Spock could not see where he jabbed his tiny limbs; merely feel those fragile hands and feet press up from within Jim's womb against his hand.

Spock was left speechless. He slipped down to the ground to wedge himself between Jim's legs, cradling the bump between his palms. The kicks became a little stronger and Spock let out a soft laugh that expressed his exhilaration, nuzzling his face against Jim's stomach.

"Finally! I thought you'd never be able to feel him," Jim exclaimed. "Your son's been doing cartwheels in there for weeks now!"

Deciding not to comment, Spock pressed a kiss to the skin above Jim's navel, relishing the moment as much as he could. After 3.4 minutes, the kicking died down and the child stilled. "Feels like Spock Junior fell asleep. Probably exhausted himself during all that kicking."

Spock kept his ear pressed against the top of Jim's bump for a short moment longer. "We will have to think of a name soon, Jim."

"Yeah, I know, I know." Jim gave a long sigh. "But not now."

"Very well."

"You know, we should go out. Look around the city. Maybe eat dinner somewhere." Spock moved away from Jim's stomach when the younger man began to tug at his ear.

Jim got to his feet, tugging his shirt back down and walked out of the living-room. Spock scrambled after him when he heard the front door open. They made their way down the sidewalk, Jim clinging to Spock's hand. Jim's hip bumped into his more often than usual since he had begun to walk with an odd swaying motion to balance out the low-riding weight of their child. Mother affectionately named it the _Mommy Waddle_, whereas Leonard had taken to calling it the _Dinosaur March_. It was not surprising that Jim did not take well to either name.

"The sky is really blue. I can't remember it being _that_ _blue_," Jim mumbled as he gazed upwards into the almost cloud-free firmament.

"You were rather young when you were taken from Earth, Jim. It is not surprising that you do not remember it as well as you would like to," Spock answered, tugging his husband across the street when the traffic light changed from red to green.

"Still. It's weird." Jim pointed towards a small bench underneath a large tree. "Could we sit down for a minute? I need to tie my shoes properly."

Spock nodded, leading Jim towards the bench. He tried not to let his amusement filter through the bond at the sight of Jim grunting as he tried to bend over his protruding stomach to tie his shoelaces. However, he did not succeed and Jim lifted a hand to give Spock a rude gesture. "Very mature, Jim."

"Oh shut up, I'm not the one making fun of a pregnant person."

"I apologise, Jim."

"Pff, yeah, sure, I can still hear you laughing through the bond, asshat." Jim sat up again, patting his stomach with a pensive expression. "Do you think we should get ice cream or something?"

"I do not know, Jim. Do you wish to purchase ice cream?" Spock asked, suppressing a heavy sigh as he slid off the bench to tie Jim's shoes.

"Thanks, Spock," Jim grinned, cheeks red with embarrassment. "Can't even tie my shoes, damn your son, Spock... well, ice-cream does sound good, but I don't know... Baby Grayson-Kirk seems unsure of what he wants to eat at the moment. But I _am_ hungry."

"As am I, we have, after all, not eaten since this morning." Spock returned to his seat beside Jim and crossed his ankles. "I believe something more nutritious than ice cream is in order."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Jim grumbled, then yelped when a small body collided with his knees. "Whoa!"

Spock was baffled when the child, who could not be more than four or five years of age, clung to Jim's trouser leg, blinking up at his husband with bright, curious eyes. Jim seemed just as confused but played it down by smiling at the boy. "Hey kid, did you get lost?"

The boy shook his head, giggling, then ducked to hide under the bench.

"_Peter! Peter, come here at once!_" A young man came running down the sidewalk, cradling a baby against his chest while dragging a blue stroller after himself. "_Peter!_"

The little boy rushed out from under the bench, running towards the man who set the baby into the stroller and scooped the boy off the ground, lifting the wayward child against up and against his chest.

"I hope our kid isn't going to be such a menace."

"Considering that you are the one carrying our child, I believe your hopes are futile."

They watched the father reprimand his child, before kissing the boy's forehead and grabbing onto the stroller to continue down the way. Spock curled his arms around Jim's shoulders when the younger man leaned into him with a soft sigh. "You know, we'll have to turn one of the rooms into a nursery soon. Oh fuck, Spock, we have so much to do! Buy baby clothes, diapers, toys... damn. Having a baby is so much work... and it costs a hell lot of money too."

"I believe I will be able to provide for both you and the baby, Jim."

"Oh shut up, rich boy."

Spock lifted an eyebrow.

Jim snickered and extracted himself from Spock's arms to stand up. "Okay, let's get going!"

Spock shook his head and followed his husband through the bright streets of San Francisco. More than once Spock had to keep his protective instincts in check whenever a stranger noticed Jim's bulging belly. Which occurred approximately every 4.6 minutes and Spock was close to simply carting Jim back to their house, but he knew Jim would not appreciate it in the least.

Finally, they decided to eat dinner at a small, Italian restaurant. The young waitress that led them to their table seemed rather fascinated by Jim and even pulled out the chair for him to sit in. Spock lifted an eyebrow as he watched the woman skip away towards the kitchen. "Humans are a rather curious species."

"Yeah, well, I thought you'd be used to them since you've been living with me for almost your entire life," Jim quipped. "Seriously, Spock, I think all women get excited when it comes to babies. Or at least... the majority of them."

"Indeed."

When their dinner arrived they ate in almost silence, fingers interwoven atop of the table as they twirled the noodles onto their forks with their free hands. By the time they left the restaurant it was 4.36 pm and Jim was yawning approximately every 7.9 minutes.

Spock wrapped his arm around Jim's waist, drawing him against his side as they made their way back towards their temporary home. The younger man sighed, leaning his cheek against Spock's shoulder. "You know, if you keep this job, we'll need a nursery in our current home too..."

"I am certain there is a room we do not need that we can use for this, Jim."

"Yeah," Jim muttered. "I want a green stroller."

Spock blinked. "May I inquire as to why?"

"Because green is a cool colour and blue is overrated."

"I see. And the fact that it is your preferred colour in socks has nothing to do with it."

"Maybe a little," Jim laughed, patting the swell of his stomach. "I'm serious, though. I want a green stroller."

"Yes, Jim," Spock sighed, reaching into his pocket to fish for the keys as they reached their home.

Jim slipped out of his shoes as soon as he had stumbled into the house, leaving them lying just by the door and Spock gave a long-suffering sigh as he gathered the discarded shoes up to set them aside. Upon stepping into the living-room, he found Jim curled up on the couch, exhaling an exhausted breath. "I'll take a nap, okay?"

"That is alright, Jim. Would the bed not be better suited for it?"

"Don't wanna stand up again," Jim grumbled, wrapping an arm around one of the large pillows decorating the sofa.

Shaking his head, Spock reached for the blanket lying folded on the armrest of the couch to spread it over Jim's body, tucking the younger man in and placing a delicate kiss onto Jim's cheek. Spock made his way to the suitcases and gathered them up to carry them upstairs. It took him 1.5 hours to stow the contents of the suitcases into their respective places and he was certain it would have taken longer, had Jim been awake. The younger man had become even more... _distracting_ in the past days and not only during the daytime, where it might have been acceptable and did not disturb anyone's sleeping patterns; Spock had been woken more than once in the middle of the night because Jim's hormone-ridden body decided that it _needed to have sex right now_.

Sighing, Spock walked back down the stairs and into the open kitchen area. He remembered the uncomfortable comm. call to Leonard only too well. Was it truly that absurd to think he might hurt the unborn child during intercourse? Apparently it was absurd enough to elicit a bout of laughter from the Doctor strong enough to make Leonard's behind spontaneously disengage from the chair he had been sitting in, an incident that prompted Jim to burst out into childish giggling and made Spock blush a very un-Vulcan shade of apple green as soon as he realised that they were laughing at his expense.

Maybe he should not have phrased it like; _I am afraid I might impale our child, should I refrain from having intercourse with Jim for the duration of his pregnancy_?

Upon opening the large fridge, Spock felt his shoulders sag. Of course, they had yet to go food shopping. Resigning himself to his fate, he trudged back into the anteroom, grabbing his wallet and the keys on the way. Briefly, he wondered if he should leave a note for Jim, but he discarded the thought as soon as it had entered his head. Jim would sleep for a few hours and if not, he could contact him through the bond.

Spock started the car, frowning for a moment when it started to beep before he realised that his seatbelt was not buckled.

Food shopping on Earth was not at all different from food shopping on Vulcan. What was different however, were the curious looks he received wherever he went. Spock hurried himself, feeling unnerved without Jim's presence to balance the uncomfortable sensation of being stared at out. He rushed through the aisles, almost dropping a jar of pickles on his way to the cash desk.

As he paid his groceries, the young woman accepting his money surprised him by avoiding touching his fingers directly and wishing him a good day while smiling a bright, sympathetic smile.

With a grateful nod in her direction he gathered his bag of groceries up and staggered back out of the store towards his car. Putting the groceries onto the passenger seat, he fumbled with the car key for a second before the vehicle came to live with a low whirring sound.

Spock drove back home, admiring the city around him with the quiet fascination of a scientist inspecting a new specimen. Earth was a lot more colourful than Vulcan. The sky was bright blue, similar to the shade of Jim's eyes and streaks of powdery clouds dragged themselves across the firmament. The streets were littered with people in bright clothes and trees grew from small patches of grass along the sidewalk.

Finally, Spock arrived at the house, parking the car in front of the garage and getting out, the grocery bag cradled in the crook of his arm while he strut towards the front door.

Upon stepping into the house, he noticed that Jim was awake and talking in an odd, high-pitched voice that he usually used on I-Chaya. Confused, Spock slipped out of his shoes and walked into the living-room.

A small kitten was lying on the coffee table, purring as Jim stroked its belly. Its fur was mostly black, but the feet and stomach area were stark white, alongside the small patch of fur that covered the kitten's upper lip, similar to a lopsided moustache.

"Jim? Why is there a feline on our coffee table?"

"Oh, you're back!" Jim turned to look at him, grinning. "Isn't she cute? Our neighbour's breed cats and one of them had kittens a while ago. She brought her over to ask if we would like to have her."

Spock lifted an eyebrow, glancing at the kitten. It was clearly a Maine Coon, which, from what he knew, was a rather expensive breed of cat. "They simply decided to give you a purebred kitten for free? I find that very unlikely."

Jim lifted the kitten up and Spock finally realised that it was missing the left hind leg. "They can't sell her like that, as cruel as it sounds. They had been searching for a nice home for her for weeks now, but no one wanted to take care of a three-legged cat when they could have a four-legged one."

Spock nodded, setting the bag of groceries onto the coffee table to pet the kitten's head. She immediately began to purr, amber eyes slipping closed as she nuzzled her wet nose against Spock's palm. "Does she have a name?"

"Uhm... not yet, I wanted to call her something awesome," Jim said, frowning down at the cat. "But I can't think of anything that might fit her."

Spock tilted his head to the side. "I believe she will be able to wait for a while longer. It might be easier to decide on a name when you... have come to know her better."

"Yeah, you're right," Jim laughed. "So, where did you go anyway?"

"I noticed that the fridge is empty so I decided to buy food...," Spock began to empty the grocery bag and carried the items over to the fridge to put them away until further use. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, like a baby," Jim answered, snickering. "You went food shopping? On your own? I hope you didn't forget or break anything."

"Jim, I may not be able to cook a meal without setting the kitchen on fire-," a loud snort from Jim met Spock's statement, "-but I am capable of buying groceries."

Jim shook his head, smiling as he held the kitten up to Spock's face before starting to speak in a squeaky voice. "Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Forgive me?"

"I will not speak to the cat, Jim."

Jim lifted the kitten higher, pushing her nose against Spock's cheek. "Please?"

"No."

Jim pouted. "At least give her a kiss."

"I will not kiss the cat, Jim. It is unhygienic."

"She's clean and got her vaccinations. I'm not asking you to make out with her, Spock. Just to give her a kiss, like, on the head or something," Jim whined, pouting and eyes wide.

Spock gave up. He pecked the kitten on the space between her large ears and raised an eyebrow at Jim. "Was this to your satisfaction, Jim?"

"Yep. Now give me a kiss."

He gave Jim a small kiss on his forehead, lips twitching with a suppressed smile at the annoyed look he received. "You did not specify the kind of kiss you wanted me to give you, Jim."

"Shut up and give me a proper kiss, Spock."

"As you wish, Jim."

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><p>Phew... and now as always...<p>

On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Jim is still trying to think of a name for the little miss. Will he succeed? And... will he like his new doctor? Find out whenever I finish the next chapter :)


	9. Chapter 9: Divided in Two

Hey guys! I'm really sorry about disappearing like that. We're having a family crisis, a big one, and I was unable to write for a very long time. I apologise and hope that I'll be able to write more regularly again. Thank you for all the comments and I promise, I won't abandon any of my stories, no matter how long it is not updated.

If you find mistakes, which you surely will because I was very distracted and still am, please, feel free to tell me.

I am currently having trouble with my review viewing and thus I cannot respond to those who are using the anonymous button by writing the responses here. Sorry about that.

Edit: Talltree-san pointed out that Sam shakes Spock's hand, which, I have to admit, was a very big brain-fail on my part. I changed the passage now, thank you, Talltree!

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 9: Divided in Two

It had taken Jim almost three weeks to come up with a name for their newest household-addition. His discovery of a cookie named 'Oreo' finally helped him decide. Thus, the little nameless kitten became Oreo, although she was often associated with the words 'oh no, not again', too, because she had a tendency to crawl onto the sofa and throw every single pillow onto the ground before stretching out as much as the little kitten was able to before falling asleep.

Currently, Jim and Spock sat in the waiting room of Doctor Cooks. Ten minutes beforehand, Jim had been going on about how it was ridiculous that the guy was an OB/GYN. When asked 'why', Jim replied that Doctor Cooks had specialised in female _and _male pregnancy but no one had bothered to find a word for that.

Jim leaned his chin onto his hand, propping his elbow up on the armrest of the uncomfortable chair he was sitting in, eyes darting towards the clock above the secretary's desk in the corner. Spock's cool hand came to rest on his shoulder and Jim heaved a long sigh, "I'm bored..."

Spock shook his head, "I have tried to tell you that we would be too early, Jim."

"Shut up," Jim grumbled, looking up when he heard the distinct sound of a child crying.

"Dr. Cooks' wife is a paediatrician. They share the office," Spock explained, pointing down the corridor towards the colourful door at the very end of it.

"Oh." Curious, Jim watched the painted door open, a small boy toddling out, crying. "Oh dear... looks like someone got a shot and didn't appreciate it at all."

The boy ran down the hallway and Jim hastily stood when the child stumbled and feel with a dull thud that spoke of bruised knees and smarting palms. It took but two seconds before the boy was crying and sitting up to rub his hands over the front of his shirt. Jim sighed, kneeling down in front of the boy, the movement awkward due to the additional weight he had taken to carry around, addressing the weeping child, "Hey, kid, don't cry, it's okay..."

The boy sniffled, blinking at him with round, hazel eyes, the freckled nose dripping an alarming amount of snot. Jim suppressed a laugh and fumbled for the pack of paper tissues he had stuffed into the back of his pants. Holding the tissue out, he gave an encouraging smile and watched the boy as he blew his nose with the clumsiness of an upset child. "There, see? Everything's alright, kiddo."

The coloured door opened once more and a frantic, familiar-looking man dashed out, his shoulders sagging in relief at the sight of the little boy sitting on the ground. "Peter, how often did Daddy tell you not to run away?"

The man knelt down, wrapping his free arm around Peter, the baby in his arms gurgling in delight. Jim chuckled when Peter's face lit up and tried to pull his sibling out of his father's arms. The young father sighed, carefully helping the boy to hold the baby, before looking at Jim, "Sorry about that, he hates getting shots, but he's just like my little brother, too many allergies to count, you know? Additionally, he gets into all sorts of trouble. Sometimes I wonder why didn't call him James instead of his little brother over here."

Jim laughed, "My husband can relate, I think. I'm driving him up the wall with my... how did you phrase it, Spock?" He glanced back at the half-Vulcan, grinning, "My complete disregard for my own safety, wasn't it?"

The man snickered, "That is not very nice of you."

"Yeah, I know. But it's fun to see him scrambling around," Jim winked, then held out his hand, "James T. Grayson-Kirk. The elf over there is my husband, Spock Grayson. The last name would be longer, but he decided to take his mother's last name. Less weird clicking sounds and growls for people to stumble over, if you know what I mean."

The man laughed before his smile abruptly faltered, the hazel eyes his son had clearly inherited from him growing wide and glassy, "James..."

"Uh, yeah, like your baby son," Jim felt his grin grow a little strained at the confusion settling in his head. "Is... something the matter?"

"I... no, I...," the man shook his head, smiling again, "Samuel Kirk, but call me Sam, everyone does. If... if I may ask, your second name...?"

"Hey, what a coincidence! And... it's Tiberius." Jim rolled his eyes. "Horrible I know- _whoa_! Are you alright?"

Sam had grown pale and was listing to the side, enough for Jim to react and pull the baby out of the man's arms to avoid Baby James getting dropped. Spock was beside him in a heartbeat, one hand on Sam's shoulder to hold the man up. Peter seemed confused but not frightened by what was happening. Jim guessed the boy had not quite grasped what was happening.

Spock shot Jim a questioning glance and Jim raised his shoulders, trying to convey that he had about as much of a clue as Spock had. Baby James gave a confused hiccup, clumsy hands pawing at Jim's shirt. Jim smiled down at the baby boy, blinking when the child opened his eyes, revealing a blue that was much too familiar to Jim. Especially since the same shade of cerulean gazed back at him through the mirror in the bathroom every morning. "Huh... guess we share more than a name, hm?"

Sam seemed to have calmed somewhat, hands covering his eyes as he mumbled, "I can't believe it. This isn't real, I'm dreaming and I'm going to wake up in my bed with my wife and Pete doing jumping-jacks on my stomach..."

"Uh... Sam?" Jim hitched Baby James higher, securing his grasp on the baby to pat the man's arm. "Uhm, are you alright? Should we call someone? Your wife... maybe?"

Sam shook his head, reaching out to stroke his younger son's cheek.

"Well... could you explain what the f- _fudge_ just happened then?"

The man rubbed his fingertips over his brows, before dropping his hands into his lap with a heavy sigh, "The short version or the long one?"

Glancing at the clock, Jim seated himself on his ass, crossing his legs to get more comfortable. "Long one, I have enough time."

Sam nodded and gave an odd snort. "I don't even know you. Not really...," the man took another deep breath, before continuing, "My father died the day my little brother was born. He was a pilot and he was on his way back when the storm hit. Somehow, he managed to land the plane and get most of the passengers out, but on his next trip inside to help the remaining people out, the kerosene tank exploded. I was five at the time and holding my newborn brother for the first time when Grandpa Tibbs came to tell us that Dad had died. Mom changed after that. She left home a lot, changed jobs like she could not sit still, everything reminded her of Dad. Especially my baby brother. I was eight when she married Frank and nine when she left home to work in Tokyo for a year. That's what she told us, at least.

"I always knew she would not come back after the one year. She would stay as long as she could get away with it and Frank, being the drunk, abusive asshole he was, decided to take his anger over Mom's inability to stay with us and in further consequence him out on my brother and me. I protected my baby brother as much as I could, but I was a nine year old boy and in the end, I ran away to my grandparents to get help. It took two days for my Grandpa to convince the social worker to put both my brother and me into their care. By the time we went to retrieve my brother, he was gone. He had disappeared over night and no one knows where to."

Jim's forehead creased. "What... what was your brother's name?"

"James. James Tiberius Kirk."

Jim froze, remembering the baby in his arms soon enough to keep his muscles from slacking and dropping the child. Spock gave an odd hum and shifted when Sam began to rummage through his pockets, pulling out a battered leather wallet and digging through the contents. A worn picture was produced and Jim moved Baby James to reach out for the photo. Two boys, the left one a lot taller than the other, were grinning into the camera. The left one wore a head of tussled, light-brown hair, hazel eyes narrowed as he smiled, the right one's mouth was open mid-laugh, blonde curls filled with leaves and tiny branches as if he had spent hours rolling across the ground. Cerulean eyes stared back at Jim and his throat constricted at the sight of the woman standing off to the side, a small, sad smile on her face and a large chocolate-cake in her hands. "That... that was my fourth birthday. I remember this. I... you... you shoved me into the blueberry bush. My shirt was covered in purple juice and it wouldn't get out, no matter how often the shirt was washed."

Sam croaked out a soft laugh and Jim looked up in time to the see the older man reach out. Too shocked to react, Jim let himself be pulled into a tight embrace, Baby James squawking in protest at being squished between them. "You're alive. _You're here and you're alive_."

Jim one arm around Sam's middle, the picture still clutched in his hand as he let his head drop onto his _brother's_ shoulder. Baby James was fussing and he could hear Peter asking questions without stopping to breathe, while Spock tried to get the small boy to calm down.

"Mr. Kirk-Grayson?"

Jim looked up, smiling a lopsided grin at the nonplussed man standing in the doorway into the doctor's office. "In a second, we're having a moment, Doc."

Doctor Cooks chuckled, nodding, "Five minutes, I do have other patients," and vanished behind the door once more.

Sam snorted and patted Jim's back, drawing away. Jim handed Baby James over and used Sam's shoulder to stand up on wobbly legs. Spock released Peter and got to his feet to steady Jim, wrapping his arms around his middle. The young man and his sons stayed on the linoleum floor; Sam was smiling although he was still paler than starched sheets. With a last, shaking grin at his brother, Jim began to walk towards the office, leaning into Spock's side, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster he had gone through.

Doctor Cooks greeted them with a smile, gesturing for Jim to sit down on the bed in the corner of the room. Breathing a relieved sigh, Jim sank onto the cushioned surface and stretched out while Spock sat down on the chair near the head of the bed. The ultrasound machine whirred to live where it loomed over Jim's wiggling feet.

The ultrasound was over quickly and Doctor Cooks wiped the gel away with a practised hand, before speaking up, "Your son looks healthy... what about you, Jim, any problems that have arisen during your travel to Earth that I should know about?"

Jim shook his head, sitting up as he pulled his shirt back over his stomach. "Nope. Everything's fine."

"Are you taking your copper supplements regularly?"

"After just barely escaping becoming anaemic two months ago, yes."

Doctor Cooks threw him a look that was eerily similar to those Jim received from Bones everytime he did something stupid. Which happened a tad too often for his taste and made him wonder if the scowl on Bones' face would be permanently carved into the man's face by the time he was thirty. "Yes, Leonard has told me about that particular incident."

Grinning with calculated bashfulness, Jim lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. "What can I say, I'm brilliant like that."

Cooks shook his head, mouth quirking into an exasperated smile. "Please, for everyone's sake, be a little more careful, alright?"

"I'll try, I promise."

"Good," Cooks nodded and glanced at the clock, "Anything else you want to ask me?"

"Nope."

"Okay. I'll see you in four weeks, Jim," Cooks chuckled, holding out a hand that Jim gladly shook.

Almost an hour later, after Jim's check-up and another tearful breakdown on Sam's side, the group had gathered outside the small clinic. They had arranged themselves on the benches placed near the flock of trees growing in the tiny park area across the street, trying to make up for the lost time by exchanging stories.

Jim found out that Peter had turned three five weeks ago and Baby James, fondly nicknamed J.T. by his family, would pass the five months mark in two days. Sam told him that he had been married to a wonderful woman named Aurelan for six years and had known her for even longer. They had moved to San Francisco seven years ago, after deciding that it was time for their first apartment and because Aurelan had received a better job position that required her to move here.

Jim kept interrupting him with questions, fidgeting where he was sat beside Spock who had long given up trying to get him to calm down. When Sam inquired as to what happened after he had been taken from him, Jim readily told his own story. In contrast to Jim's constant questioning, Sam remained silent, nodding at the appropriate times and smiling when Jim fell into colourful descriptions of their home and garden upon Vulcan, frowning when Jim retold the tale of their linked minds and how it had almost cost him his life all those years ago.

Finally, Jim stopped talking and Sam's mouth curved into a mischievous grin, reaching out to touch Jim's belly, palm flattening over the bulge. "Decided to start early, huh?"

Jim smacked Sam's shoulder, "We didn't know. My medical files were still on Earth and no one bothered to retrieve them. I was lucky that Bones, my Doctor on Vulcan, is human and recognised the symptoms, since this particular quirk of genetics never occurred within the Vulcan population."

"Ah," Sam hummed, laughing when Baby Grayson-Kirk greeted him with an enthusiastic kick. "How far along are you?"

"Around twenty four weeks so... halfway through my sixth month."

Whistling, Sam gave another pat to Jim's abdomen before pulling away, "You know the gender or decided to wait till you actually meet your kid?"

"It's a boy," Jim declared proudly, "But we're still trying to find a name that both Spock and I approve of."

"Good luck with that," Sam laughed.

"I am not particularly concerned about finding a name for our child, but rather the fact that our son will most likely end up being a troublemaker like Jim," Spock explained, a small smirk lurking in the corners of his mouth.

Breathing in a gasp of mock hurt, Jim crossed his arms and turned his nose up, "I will not sit here and be insulted."

"Well, until someone helps you get up, I guess you'll have to endure it, Jimmy."

Jim threw his pack of tissues at his brother. "Shut up, Sam."

"If it makes you feel better, Peter is a troublemaker too and we love him anyway. As long as you keep an eye on him there's not a lot that can happen. Well... apart from that one time with the sugar bowl and our dog's leash..."

And once more did Jim find himself listening intently to another story featuring his adventurous nephew. After Sam ended his tale of how Peter had gotten stuck in their dog's kennel last month, Jim had gathered enough courage to inquire after their mother, "How's Mom?"

Sam sighed, averting his eyes to stare at the trees swaying in the gentle breeze. Baby James huffed against his father's chest, squirming until he was comfortable and his tiny face was pressed against Sam's collarbone. "She divorced Frank as soon as she found out what had happened. Not because he beat us, but... because he didn't care to keep an eye on your and told her so. It took me years to convince her that he had been abusing us. Mom's living at the farm, back in Iowa. We don't talk a lot."

"Oh."

"She apologises everytime I come to see her," Sam's voice was quiet and Peter, although Jim suspected that the boy had no clear idea what was happening, reached out to pat his father's arm with a clumsy hand. "Jimmy, I'm sorry I left you with that bastard that night. If I had been there, none of this would have happened and-"

"No, Sam," Jim cut him off sternly, "You were trying to get help. You would have never made it that far with me tagging along. It was hard enough to save up the money for one train ticket, I remember that much. I don't blame you for what happened. After all, a lot of good came out of it too, right?"

He turned to look at Spock who met his gaze with softened eyes, before directing his attention back to Sam. The older man had relaxed a little, a knowing smile sitting comfortably in the corners of his mouth. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But... I missed all of it, I missed you growing up, I missed you crushing on your now-husband and I could not even do the 'hurt him and I'll kill you' speech for you."

"You forget that I missed your life until now, too, Sam."

"I know. But you were at least sure that I was _living _a life. I thought you had been taken by some sick bastard and been left in a ditch after you had served your purpose."

Jim winced. "You and Bones would be the best of friends. Always expecting the worst."

A weak smile thinned Sam's lips, "I bet you drive him up the wall constantly."

"Of course," Jim answered, shrugging with exaggerated nonchalance. "Now stop looking so down and promise me you'll come for dinner on the weekend."

To Jim's relief, that particular sentence prompted a laugh out of his brother, wiping the morose expression from his face and waking the baby in his arms. "Yes, yes of course. I hope you don't possess any expensive vases or similar things, Peter has a knack for breaking pricey things."

"Spock, it sounds like you'll need to put the Murano glass bowl your Grandma Lizzy sent us a week ago away."

"Grandma Lizzy...? Oh, you're talking about his maternal grandmother," Sam snorted, patches of red on his cheeks that spoke of embarrassment, "Sorry."

Jim waved it off. "It's okay, Spock tends to forget he's half human, too, sometimes."

Spock shifted beside him, wrapping his arm around Jim's middle to pull him a little more against his side before dropping his chin to rest on the blonde hair atop Jim's head. "That is illogical, Jim."

"Your face is illogical."

"I have enough proof that you do not truly believe that my face is illogical, the most convincing one being the ring on your finger."

Breathing out a soft laugh, Jim tilted his head, dislodging Spock's chin from its perch to kiss the half-Vulcan's lips. "Shut up, you."

In Sam's arms, Baby James began to hiccup and cry, waving his tiny fists as tears trailed down red-blotched cheeks. The young father released a tired groan and stood, bouncing the baby in his arms to calm him down. "Alright, Jimmy, looks like J.T. needs some food and probably a fresh diaper afterwards. Did I give you my comm. number?"

"Yeah," Jim raised the tiny piece of paper he had been clutching in one hand, smiling. "Go on before he screams your ears off."

Sam laughed, awkwardly parting his fingers in an approximation of the Vulcan ta'al, before wrapping an arm around Jim's shoulders, pulling away when Baby James' cries became too much in the small space between them. "Alright, I'll call you in the evening after I've spoken to Aurelan. She'll probably insist on making dessert, so don't bother with it, yeah?"

Waving him off, Jim huffed out a short breath, "Yes, yes, now go, Peter doesn't look very happy and I doubt you want him to start throwing a tantrum now."

Peter's face darkened even further and Jim grimaced. Not the best choice of words, it seemed. Sam chuckled, hitching the crying baby up until he was supported against his shoulder, reaching out with his now free arm to take Peter's hand. "Say bye to Uncle Jim and Uncle Spock, Pete."

"Bye," Peter mumbled, pressing his face against his father's pant leg.

Jim watched his brother leave, leaning against Spock's side with a heavy sigh. He was bone tired and aching to get home to lie down and sleep. Spock's palm stroked over his side, thumb rubbing over his ribs. "What a crazy day, huh?"

"To be honest, Jim, I am not very shocked about this development. I have come to expect the strangest of things to happen around you."

"Yeah, but still... I mean, I wanted to try and contact my family, but... well, I prefer this over an awkward comm. call and endless explanations to get them to believe that it's really me."

"Indeed," Spock pressed a kiss to Jim's temple and Jim closed his eyes, perfectly content for the first time in weeks.

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><p>In the next episode of Spock Hunters: Will Jim be able to finish making dinner in time? Is the Murano glass bowl really safe? Where did Oreo go?<p>

I really, really, really need a hug now... *flops down onto the ground*


	10. Chapter 10: The Wheel Is Turning

Hey, sorry this took so long. I wanted to finish Between two Worlds and RL kind of gave me a hard time.

I'm currently trying to get through my finals and I apologise for the quality of this chapter. If you find errors, things that make no sense, repetitions, anything, please tell me. I rewrote this chapter four times and I'm still not sure if it turned out somewhat readable. :)

Anyway, thank you for your kind reviews! Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 10: the wheel is turning

Spock leaned back into the couch cushions, stretching his legs with a soft sigh. He had spent the entire morning vacuum-cleaning their home and cleaning the bathroom. It still baffled him how Jim had managed to get toothpaste onto the ceiling. Meanwhile, Jim had cooked, cursing Oreo with every step he took, the kitten finding great amusement in hopping around his ankles.

Which was a downright health hazard, due to the fact that Jim had trouble getting used to the shift in his centre of gravity and kept on overcompensating for his growing stomach. It would have been an amusing sight, but neither did Spock wish for Jim to fall nor did he want to risk being banned from the bedroom.

He had become dangerously close to the latter already.

Approximately 3.5 weeks ago, moments after they had finished their lunch with Samuel Kirk's family, Jim had extended an invitation to meet again soon. They had accepted it with enthusiasm, promising to comm. them when they found time.

"Do you think I made enough?" Jim mused, "Peter eats a lot for such a tiny person."

Spock sighed, "Yes, Jim, you made enough. Do not be so concerned."

Jim spun around to face him, wobbling as he pointed the wooden spoon he had been stirring the sauce with at Spock, "I'll worry all I want, Mister. Do you have any idea how long I've been standing here, chopping vegetables?"

"Yes, Jim. After all, it was you who woke me at 4.30 am, telling me to start cleaning," Spock answered.

"Oh, shut up. You deserve to suffer too. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get up with that thing," Jim gestured at his stomach with a pout, "weighing you down? Not to mention that tying my shoes has become an almost impossible task for me."

Spock was reminded of the meltdown that had occurred a week ago. Jim had woken up and begun to wail that he was unable to see his penis anymore. Spock was immensely glad they had decided to remain on Earth for the duration of Jim's pregnancy; Samuel was rather talented in calming Jim's illogical mood swings.

Watching his husband walk over towards the sink, Spock tilted his head, eyes fixed on Jim's firm behind. Jim's pants clung enticingly to the rounded posterior, the added sway of his waddling gait enhancing the hypnotising side-to-side motion. As Jim leaned over, Spock was able to catch a strip of golden skin when the man's shirt rode upwards, exposing the dimples sitting right above the hem of Jim's loose jeans.

Jim's brisk sigh shook Spock from his observations. "When did Sam say they'd come over?"

"1.30 pm, Jim."

"The pm was a little unnecessary, Spock."

"Why?"

Jim rolled his eyes, breathing out a loud huff, shirt straining over the round protrusion of his abdomen, "Spock. Don't even try this with me, alright?"

"I apologise, Jim," Spock stood, making his way to his husband to pull Jim into a soothing embrace, "May I inquire as to why you are so nervous, Jim?"

"I... I asked Sam to contact our mother," Jim answered softly, pressing his cheek against Spock's collarbone, "He said, while he doesn't approve of her being part of the family ever again, it's my decision whether I want to talk to her or not. I'm just... I don't know if I'm ready, Spock. This was a bad idea."

"It will be alright, Jim," Spock placed a kiss to the top of Jim's head, "Has Samuel told you that he was able to contact her?"

"No."

"Then it is not guaranteed that she will be present."

Jim shook his head, "No. But I'm still worried. She's my mother and I don't know anything about her. I can barely remember anything about my time on Earth. I don't even know what she looks like anymore, Spock. To be honest, I'm thinking of calling Sam and telling him the lunch can't take place because I forgot we have an appointment at the doctor's."

"The next appointment is in 2.3 weeks, Jim, which is when you reach the approximate date of thirty weeks."

"I know, okay? I know. I also know that I told Sam the exact same thing you just told me, albeit in less stuck-up terms," Jim breathed a sigh of frustration, "It just scares me to know that she's my mother... and yet we know nothing about each other."

Spock ran a hand through Jim's tussled hair. "But you are now able to get to know her once again, Jim."

"Yes," Jim nodded, "And that scares me even more."

Spock pressed another kiss to Jim's hair, running his palms over his husband's spine, tugging him closer still until the round bulge of Jim's stomach pressed against his abdominal muscles. The baby gave a small kick, startling a laugh out of Jim. Suppressing a smile, Spock slid his hand down to let his rest against the tight flesh underneath Jim's shirt, "This is our home, Jim. I promise you that I will ask her to leave should she make you uncomfortable in any way."

"Thanks," Jim sighed, then gasped and pushed away, turning back towards the stove, "You almost made me burn the lunch!"

Allowing the corners of his mouth to quirk upwards, Spock retreated back to his seat, shifting when Oreo dragged herself onto the cushion beside him. Spock allowed the kitten to crawl into his lap, eyes drooping and falling shut a moment later.

Three hours later, he found himself sitting at the dining table, cutting Peter's potatoes into smaller pieces. Aurelan, Samuel's wife, gestured with her spoon as she told Jim about JT's first attempt at standing up. Said child was busy thwarting his father's plan to feed him by turning his head away and clapping his hands whenever Samuel gave a sigh of fond frustration. The subject of Winona Kirk had been avoided with painstaking care, leaving an uncomfortable atmosphere hovering above them, even as they spoke.

"-and Sam was so proud, even though JT didn't even get up!" Aurelan huffed out a laugh, "He can be really ridiculous, I tell you, Jimmy."

Jim waved his hand through the air, "Spock can be like that, too. The last time the baby kicked, he said Baby Grayson-Kirk was communicating with us. As if an almost seven month old foetus understands a word we're saying. He might react to noise and changes in lighting, but anything else," he shook his head with a snicker.

Spock finished cutting Peter's potatoes and returned the fork to the boy's hand, setting the knife down on the table top, "Our child is part Vulcan, Jim. His telepathy and empathy are rather strong, too."

"Already?"

"Yes," Spock did not even attempt to stop the pride from shining through his voice, "He is able to sense, not only your, but also my emotional state."

"Oh," Jim blinked, taken aback, "That's actually pretty neat. I just hope it won't cause trouble later on."

"Oh!" Aurelan exclaimed, "Have you thought of a name yet? It must be a little tiring to refer to the baby as nothing but... well, Baby?"

Spock lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Jim. His husband shrugged, turning his head to direct his attention back to Aurelan, "No, we haven't really thought of anything concrete yet. We have a few names we like, but we'll wait till he's actually here to name him."

Aurelan hummed, nodding, "Yes, that's probably for the best."

Spock inclined his head and began to eat once again.

"Don't eat so much of it, I made dessert," Jim declared with a grin, laughing when Peter gave a loud, enthusiastic screech, promptly knocking over the almost empty glass of orange juice near his plate.

"Oh-oh," Peter mumbled as he frowned at the juice pooling on the smooth, wooden surface, "Sorry."

"That is all right," Spock stood and wiped the juice away with a napkin, righting Peter's glass and refilling it, before sitting down once again.

Peter chirped out a high-pitched, "Thanks!" and reached for his re-filled glass, gulping down most of its content within mere seconds.

Aurelan brushed her thick brown hair behind her ears and touched a delicate hand to Peter's shoulder, breathing a sigh of fond exasperation, "Darling, not so fast, you know what happened the last time you drank your juice too quickly."

"Hiccups," Peter said, nodding his head sagely then taking another long sip of his juice, causing both Aurelan and Jim to burst out into heartfelt laughter.

Spock bit his bottom lip, suppressing a grin at the sight of Peter's rather confused expression. Jim had had to put his cutlery down, curling over his ever growing abdomen as he wheezed for air, while Aurelan had thrown her head back; eyes squeezed shut as she guffawed.

A short silence settled over the dining table, after their laughter had tapered off. Finally, Samuel spoke up, "I called our mother two days ago. She didn't pick up the phone, but I left her a message, explaining everything and I invited her here. Since she never called me back, I have no idea if she'll be here today. I'm sorry, Jim."

Jim waved Samuel's concerns off, "It's alright, Sam. Not your fault."

Samuel shrugged, unsure, "Still. I might not like her much for what she did, but you deserve to at least have her come here and talk to you."

As if Samuel's words had been the cue, the doorbell rang. Spock slid off his seat and made his way around the table upon seeing Jim struggling to get off his chair. After helping his husband onto his feet, Spock wrapped an arm around Jim's middle and led his waddling husband out of the living room. Spock unlocked the door and stepped back to let Jim tug it open.

A woman stood outside, her blonde hair streaked with silver and her eyes framed by wrinkles. Her hazel eyes, so much like Samuel's, instantly revealed her identity. Her pale lips parted, but she did not speak, gaze fixed on Jim's face as she lifted a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes closing and causing the wetness lingering behind her bottom lid to spill down her cheeks.

Jim drew in a sharp breath and Spock reached for his hand, offering his silent support.

"M... Mom?" Jim's voice was quiet, a tad croaky.

Winona nodded and opened her eyes, "Jimmy, I'm so sorry. I'm...," she broke off, turning away as a sob rattled her frame.

Releasing Jim's hand, Spock folded his arms in front of his chest as the younger man stepped out onto the porch, touching his hands to Winona's upper arms, "It's okay. Mom, just... why didn't you...? Why did you leave? You should have noticed what Frank was doing," Jim's voice wavered and Spock was reminded of the small, frightened boy his husband had once been.

Winona shook her head, hands covering her face and as she spoke, her tone was laden with shame, "I didn't know. My God, Jimmy, I didn't... I should have noticed, I know, I should have... but I couldn't...," shifting, she cupped Jim's face between her palms, "I couldn't look at you. Not at Sam. Not at you. And there is no excuse for my actions, there were so many ways I could have handled our situation. But I chose to run away, because it seemed like the easiest way out. I'm so sorry, Jimmy."

Jim curled his fingers around Winona's wrists, "I... I can't remember a lot of what happened back then, Mom. It's Sam you need to apologise to. I forgive you, but I'm not sure if I can... can ask you to be a part of the family right now. It'll take time."

Winona shut her eyes and nodded, "Thank you."

Spock glanced back into the hallway, finding Samuel standing near the door to the living room, eyes dark and his mouth set in a thin line. The young father was cradling his youngest son against his chest, JT's cheek resting against Samuel's collarbone. Lifting an eyebrow at the man, Spock tilted his head to indicate Winona. Samuel's expression hardened, but, to Spock's surprise, the young man stepped closer until he was standing beside Spock. Winona's gasp told Spock that she had noticed his presence.

Jim stepped aside, backing into Spock's chest, breathing out a shaky sigh when Spock wrapped his arms around his husband's swollen stomach, palms pressing against the firm flesh.

"Sam," Winona shifted where she stood, her eyes drifting down to JT's sleeping face, "I..."

"I heard what you said," Samuel inclined his head and directed his attention off to the side, "And I'm willing to try to give you a second chance. But, as Jim said, we're going to take this slow. Understood?"

Winona nodded, "Yes. Of course."

"Good," Samuel swallowed, "Your grandchildren's names are Peter and James Tiberius Kirk Junior. And your third grandchild has yet to be named."

Spock had to avert his gaze at the look of utter gratefulness in Winona's eyes. Samuel gave a single, firm nod and turned on his heel, striding back inside without another word. Jim squirmed in Spock's hold for a moment, then cleared his throat, "Uhm... do you... do you want to come inside?"

Winona shook her head, "No, Jimmy, I don't think neither Sam nor you are quite ready for that."

No, Spock thought, no one in this household was quite ready for that particular scenario to happen right now.

Jim nodded and offered a weak smile, "Okay. Then... I guess it was nice meeting you, Mom. I'll call you. Sam gave me your comm. number, just in case."

Jim's mother gave a affirmative hum and finally turned around. They watched as she made her way to her car, sliding into the vehicle, slamming the door and leaving their property, her automobile vanishing down the street. Spock guided Jim back inside and shut the door behind them, "Are you alright, Jim?"

"Yeah," Jim sighed, wiping at his eyes, "Sorry. Hormones."

"That is all right," Spock answered, leading Jim to the living room where Samuel and his family was waiting for them, the only sound being Peter's constant babbling.

"Is she gone?" Samuel asked.

"Mhm," Jim nodded, "She basically said it's not time for family lunches, yet."

The corner's of Samuel's mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. "Yeah. Now, you said something about desserts?"

The rest of the lunch passed in a rather pleasant way, the only mishap being Peter falling into the ornamental pond in the backyard while chasing after Oreo. Even though the boy had started to cry upon being pulled out, Peter had turned out to be unharmed, merely soaked through and cold. Their get-together had ended soon after the incident, leaving Spock and Jim to clean up the dishes.

"Aurelan invited us over for the next time we meet up," Jim handed another plate to Spock.

Drying it carefully, Spock moved away for a moment to place the dish into the large drawer underneath the kitchen counter, "And when exactly are we to meet up again?"

"In two weeks. It's Peter's birthday," Jim held out a glass for Spock to dry, "What did you think of... my Mom?"

Spock slowed his movements and set the glass down on the counter, "What I think is not important, Jim, but... while I am not happy with how she has treated you and Samuel in the past, I believe that she is genuinely apologetic about what has happened. I respect your decision to give her another chance, Jim, but I will not hesitate to ban her from our home, if she causes you harm in any way."

Jim's lush lips curled into a pleased smile, "Of course, Spock."

Reaching out, Spock wrapped his arm around Jim's middle, tugging his husband close and tucking him against his side. Jim leaned into him, muscles relaxing as he breathed out a long, content sigh. Through the open window came the sound of the last birds singing, the weather having cooled rapidly in the past weeks. Due to this, Mother had been sending them self-made pullovers almost every day for two weeks, until Father had decided to intervene. Jim had still been happy about the additions to their wardrobe, using the numerous pullovers to cushion the nest Spock had, out of a deep-seated instinct, built in the corner of their bedroom.

Jim yawned, slumped further into Spock's hold.

"Maybe we should reconsider washing the dishes ourselves today and proceed to bed, Jim," Spock prompted gently.

Jim gave a weak nod and gave a pleased hum when Spock scooped him up into his arms, carrying his husband up the stairs and settling him down onto his own two feet once they reached the bedroom. Their bed, devoid of mattress, blankets and pillows, had been pushed against the wall to create more room for the large nest. Various pillows and blankets had been stacked, twisted and tucked atop the mattress into the vague shape of a bowl. It had taken Spock 7.8 hours to finish the construction and by the time he had placed the last pillow into its place, Jim had fallen asleep on the couch downstairs.

Jim wiggled out of his clothes, leaving them where they dropped as he stepped away to crawl into the nest. Spock lifted an eyebrow and decided to follow Jim's example, abandoning his clothes on the floor and joining his naked husband.

"Hm," Jim hummed, smiling as he shifted closer, wrapping his arms around Spock's neck.

Allowing himself a small smirk, Spock pressed a kiss to Jim's forehead and another to his beautiful mouth. Jim gave a soft groan, lips parting to allow their tongues to tangle as Spock pushed between Jim's thighs. Their languid kiss turned heated, Jim's nails biting into Spock's shoulders as the younger man attempted to rock his hips into Spock's. Moving a hand downwards, Spock curled his fingers around Jim's hip, holding him steady as he undulated against his husband.

As if in protest, Spock felt Jim's stomach shift as the baby began to roll within its confines. They broke their kiss and Jim started to laugh a moment later, "I'm sorry, Spock. I think your son's feeling left out."

"Illogical," Spock huffed, brushing a hand over the firm bulge while he hovered above his husband, "He is right here. And I thank you for reminding me of his presence. I am now unable to stop thinking about this fact and will not be able to perform sexually."

Jim snorted and covered his eyes with his hands as he guffawed.

Breathing out a heavy sigh, Spock shook his head and rolled off to the side, "I am glad you find this so amusing, Jim."

"Oh, come on, Spock," Jim scrambled to sit up, dragging himself over Spock's side, "It was funny."

"If you say so, Jim," Spock pushed his fingers through Jim's hair, scraping his nails over the man's scalp, "We have forgotten to comm. Leonard once again."

Jim's chin dropped onto his sternum,, "Ugh, great. He'll be so angry. I'm screwed, Spock, why didn't you remind me?"

"I believe I said 'we' have forgotten, Jim."

Jim waved a hand through the air, "You never forget anything; you're just scared of Bones."

Spock rolled his eyes and dragged a blanket over them both, "Go to sleep, Jim."

"Yeah, yeah, scaredy cat."

* * *

><p>And... how did I always end this thing? On the next episode of Spock Hunters; Why the hell does everything hurt? What the hell is the cat doing in the sink? And can somebody please get Leonard, because everyone's useless.<p>

*coughs*


	11. Chapter 11: Spinning Round And Round

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long, the chapter was giving me a very hard time. Which is why the quality of this thing is lacking. Things that might be wrong: 'dinner' instead of 'lunch'. Writing 'Stiles' instead of 'Jim' because I was ranting to my friend about the downward spiral Teen Wolf has taken. There is a reason why I usually stick to Star Trek. Grammar, spelling, everything. I tried to find my errors, I really did, but the heat is getting to me and I can barely touch my laptop without burning my fingertips. I'm not even kidding.

Also, **warning**: I was talking with a friend of mine, who's a biology student and I realised I needed a logical explanation. Or as a logical as a pregnant guy's internal workings can get. So... if you're easily squicked, I'd advise you to... skip the first part...? Or maybe the entire chapter. Pregnancy is not just about glowing skin and adorable baby bumps.

Alright. So, to tubagirl444, here's your birthday present, sweetie, I'm sorry the quality is bad, I hope you have a nice birthday!

To everyone else who commented; thank you for sticking with the story for so long and again; I will never abandon a story. No matter how long it takes me to finish it or how much I do not want to write it.

Anyway... enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 11: spinning round and round

It was official. Being thirty-two weeks pregnant _sucked_.

Jim glared mutinously at the TV screen, arms folded across his chest, touching the heavy sphere that forced him to sit down every ten minutes due to the strain on his spine. The fact that Spock was currently at work and Bones had taken a shuttle down to Earth to keep an eye on Jim did not help his bad mood in any way.

The worst thing was that Leonard wanted to explain how the birth would most likely go _again_. For the fifth time. In two weeks.

As if Jim had not listened the first time Leonard had told him about it.

It was a tad hard to forget your best friend comparing your ass to a cloaca. Which was neither funny, nor in any way an attractive image. Bones had deserved that pillow to the face.

Furrowing his brows, Jim stared at Bones, when the man sat down on the coffee table in front of him, "What?"

"Now, calm down, Jimmy," Bones drawled, clearly starting to get fed up with Jim's attitude, "I know what I said wasn't very sensitive, and I'm sorry. No reason for ya to keep ignorin' me."

"I don't need you to explain it to me again, Bones."

"I wouldn't have to, if you'd agreed to a damn caesarean section, Jimbo."

Jim scoffed, "I told you. No one's cutting me open. As long as both the baby and I are healthy and not in danger, there will be no sharp instruments anywhere near my belly."

Bones snorted, "Yeah, wouldn't want tha' balloon of yers to pop."

Jim threw another pillow at the man, "You're an ass, Bones. Why I thought it'd be great to befriend you, I cannot even fathom."

"Because you are a walking accident and I'm the only one in this entire universe that knows the whole list of your allergies by heart."

"Fuck you, Bones," Jim slumped further down into the couch cushions, his mood following the descent, "I still don't want to hear your explanation again. I've heard it five times and I think I have been effectively scarred for life. I still won't let you cut me open. Getting my appendix removed was scary enough and the only thing I got left from that, are these three tiny puncture scars."

The other man rolled his eyes, "I just want you to be prepared, Jimmy. And you never listened to me. You put on your headphones, you throw pillows and whatever else you get your hand on at me, you actually turned on the television to blare 'Sexy Orion Shopping Spree' at me. Why you even watch this crap is beyond me."

"Because, Bones, fabulous shoes interest me more than the fact that I have a birth canal that opens into my ass, alright?"

"It opens into your anal canal, Jim, and the process is similar to that of the pharynx conducting either air or food into the right passage by opening or closing the epiglottis, depending on whether we breathe or swallow. Only... well, it is clearly not about putting things inside, but getting things out... What I am saying is, as we have confirmed that the birth canal runs in front of the colon and behind your bladder, your body will 'shut' the rectum down to allow the birth canal to expand. Which might make it difficult for you to use the toilet for a day or two-"

Jim stuck his fingers into his ears, "I can't hear you!"

"You are such a child, Jim."

"Am not!"

"So you _can_ hear me."

"No!"

A pillow smacked against Jim's head. He gave an affronted whine, glaring at Bones to express his unadulterated loathing for the man, "I will smother you with that pillow while you sleep, Bones."

"Sure you will, kid," Bones crossed his legs and planted his socked feet on the coffee table, "You can't even get out of bed without help."

"I will find a way," Jim grunted, "Now, go, be a nice doctor and get me some ice cream. I'm hungry and Baby Grayson-Kirk demands ice cream. With chocolate-chips. And maybe banana slices. Yes, I think banana slices would do it. And maybe strawberries. Oh, strawberries would be divine."

"You really need to give that kid a name, Jimmy," Bones stood and made his way into the kitchen, "You'll get yoghurt. I'll cut you some bananas and strawberries in, but you had enough ice cream these past weeks."

"What the hell? The only weight I put on is that of the baby!"

"This is not about your weight, it's about the fact that you need nutrition, not sugar. And I do not want to hear the 'but there's fruit in it!' argument. It will not work again," Bones carried the bowl filled with yoghurt and slices of fruit back into the living room, planting both the bowl and the spoon onto Jim's belly without further ado, "Here you are, Your Highness."

Jim pouted at the bowl, then grabbed the spoon and started to eat, holding onto the porcelain when the baby gave a hearty kick, "See? He does not approve," Jim muttered, continuing to spoon the yoghurt into his mouth.

"Whatever, kid," Bones sat down once more, "You're eating it and that's that."

Jim rolled his eyes then furrowed his brows as his stomach gave an odd twinge. The sensation grew and stretched until Jim had to set the bowl down to curl over his swollen belly with a pained groan. His entire abdomen felt like one tight, aching muscle, unrelenting as Jim attempted to breathe through the cramp. Bones' warm hand touched the back of his neck, keeping a firm, calming pressure on his skin. Hours seemed to go by until the cramping ceased, leaving Jim shaken and confused.

"Okay," Bones exhaled, "Okay, let's get you into a more comfortable position. Does it still hurt? Can you describe the pain to me?"

The older man helped Jim lie down on his side, Bones' broad palm rubbing gentle circles into the bulging flesh of Jim's stomach. Jim shrugged, still a tad frightened by what had occurred as he answered, "Just... uh, like... like a cramp? But very, very painful. And ongoing."

"Most cramps are, genius," Bones patted Jim's hair with his other hand, "Anything else? Did this happen before?"

"N-no? No," Jim stared up at his best friend, eyes widening as he thought about the implications, "Did I go into labour? It's too early!"

Bones rolled his eyes and reached for the tricorder in his back-pocket, running a quick scan, "No, Jimmy. You're not in labour. It was a Braxton Hicks contraction," the tricorder gave a soft beep as it finished analysing, "It's basically your body 'practising' for what's to come."

"Practising? Are you kidding me? That was painful as fuck!"

"Calm down," Bones drawled, "Next time it happens, you should try to breathe through it or change position. You'll be okay."

"Sometimes I want to strangle you, Bones, and bury your body in the garden, so I can always remember I won't have to look at that smirk of yours ever again," Jim grunted as he sat up a little, using his elbows to keep himself upright, "No, no, sorry. Thanks for helping me. Those hormones are going to kill me within the next few days, I can tell. Don't take anything I say seriously."

"That would be a helpful advice, if I had taken you seriously in the first place, Jimbo."

"Oh, ha-ha," Jim muttered, „You're so funny, Bones."

"I know," Bones pressed a kiss to Jim's forehead and stood once again, "Get some rest. I'll make food for when your pointy-eared husband comes home."

"Don't set my kitchen on fire," Jim mumbled, falling back against the cushions.

"Shut up, Jimmy."

Not bothering to respond, Jim allowed his eyes to slide shut with a soft smile on his lips. He must have dropped right off into sleep, for the next time he registered anything happening around him, Jim was able to hear Bones and Spock bickering a few feet away from him.

"-have called me, Leonard."

"It was just a Braxton Hicks, Spock, I can't call your out of an important meeting just because of a freaking test-run."

"Jim-"

"Jim handled it perfectly. He's fine and he's not an invalid, Spock. He can take care of himself and if not, that's why I'm here. I get that you're scared, you're going to be a father soon, but I promise you, if anything had happened to Jim, seriously happened, I would have called you immediately," Jim squinted his left eye open, watching Spock cross his arms where he towered over Leonard, looking less than pleased.

"Still," Spock said, a slight furrow to his brows, "What if-"

Bones scoffed, "No, Spock. I'm a doctor. Even if something had happened, I would have been able to help. I have everything I need here, because your husband is a freakin' idiot and wants a natural birth. Just be glad he didn't ask for a home birth. But either way, there's no way you'll be able to prevent _something_ from happening, Spock."

"And that worries me."

"Yeah, I know. It worries me too, but I'm confident I'll be able to prevent any medical emergencies that might or might not occur," Bones waved a hand through the air, "Now stop making that face and go wake your husband. I made dinner."

Jim scrunched up his face, then opened both eyes when Spock leaned over him, brown eyes soft, "Hello, Jim."

"Hey, Spock," Jim mumbled, tilting his head up to kiss Spock's chin, "Welcome home."

"Did you sleep well?" Spock whispered, moving to kneel down beside the couch.

"M-hm," Jim nodded, "You shouldn't be mad at Bones. It wasn't that bad. It's not like you would have been able to come back quickly enough to help me through it, Spock. It was just a Braxton Hicks and mine barely lasted ten minutes. Not a big deal, Spock. Sure, I freaked out, because it never happened before, but... well, I'm okay now."

"Are you two done, yet? Food's getting cold!" Bones yelled, stomping out of the open kitchen towards them, "Also, why is that damn cat in the sink?"

"She likes to sit in there, we usually turn on the water so she can drink, Bones, don't get your panties in a bunch," Jim held out his arms, grunting when Spock heaved him off the sofa, "I can't wait till I can get up on my own again, this is ridiculous."

The doctor gave an exaggerated eye roll, "Just get your ass over to the table."

With Spock's help, Jim maneuvered himself around the coffee table and waddled over towards the dining area, plopping down on his seat with a sigh, "Hey! You made pumpkin soup!"

"Yeah, I did, you've been talking about it for days now; something about it being October and you craving pumpkin soup."

Jim gasped dramatically, touching his hands to his chest, "Aw, Bones, that's so nice of you!"

"Will you shut up and eat?" Bones snapped, pressing the spoon into Jim's hand as if he was a child, "We should have let you sleep. You're unbearable already."

Pouting, Jim stuck a spoonful of soup into his mouth, swallowing with a content sigh, "Bones, your pumpkin soup is divine. You should cook more often."

"My pumpkin soup might be good, Jimbo, but we both know you're the better cook," Bones lifted his spoon to his lips, "Although I gotta say, I've outdone myself regarding this soup."

Upon glancing to the side, Jim was able to see Spock look at the ceiling in a halfway eye roll, "Your humility knows no bounds, Doctor."

"You know what we should do?" Jim piped up, spoon halfway to his mouth, "We should go shopping. We need more baby clothes. And the nursery's still not done. Oh no, Spock, the nursery. We'll never get it done in time at this rate! We haven't even painted the walls properly yet, they're still white."

Spock gave a soft sigh, "Yes, Jim, I know. But I do not think you are in the condition to go on an extended shopping spree."

"Nonsense," Jim flapped his hand at his husband in dismissal, "I'll manage. I'm not an invalid."

"No, but you look ready to pop and you walk like a duck," Bones commented, "It'd take twice as long to get anywhere with you tagging along."

"You're an asshole," Jim grumbled, "Can we at least paint the nursery then? We really need to do that. It's kind of ridiculous how long we're taking to finish it. It's not like it's a lot of work to paint the freaking walls, right? We even got most of the furniture assembled already. And my Mom brought my old crib over, so we won't have to worry about that anymore. It's white, so it fits perfectly-"

"Yes, thank you, Mommy, we get it," Bones grumbled, eating another spoonful of soup before continuing, "We'll finish up the nursery if you promise to shut up."

Jim pouted, but stayed quiet. The rest of their late lunch went by quietly and once they were finished, the three of them headed upstairs. Jim waddled into the nursery, placing his hands onto his hips with a huff, "Look at this. Nothing is finished. Nothing, I say. Spock, what have we been doing all these weeks?"

Spock gave a very human shrug and pulled off his pullover, leaving him in nothing but a sleeveless t-shirt and one the soft jeans he changed into when coming home from work. Bone rolled his eyes at Jim and patted his back, "Just sit down somewhere. You can paint the lowermost stripe you wanted on the wall opposite of the large window. The beige paint can, right?"

"Yes, but the wall is supposed to have blue and beige stripes, Bones," Jim whined, grunting as he dropped down onto the ground, his stomach too large for anything that might have resembled elegance.

"Fine, let me do it then, since you're obviously incapable of doing anything productive today," Bones carried the paint cans over and started to painstakingly tape off the areas that would end up being painted beige, "You can stay down there and be quiet."

Pouting, Jim crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I wanted to paint, too. And I'm, so capable of being productive. It's not my fault that this baby weighs a freaking ton," he scooted around on his behind and trained his eyes on Spock's muscular back.

Jim was suddenly glad they had not bought rollers with long handles. Watching Spock stretch and shift to paint the wall was worth being confined to sitting on the ground. Not to mention that Jim had not appreciated Spock's backside as much as he should have. Maybe he should take some pictures. Because as much as Spock insisted that Jim's ass what the finest of them all, well, not in that exact wording, but close, Spock's looked mighty fine in those jeans, too. He would take those pictures later, when Bones left for the large apartment he had rented close by. And maybe, just maybe, he could get Spock to su-

"Jim, I would appreciate if you would move your rather explicit daydreaming to the bedroom," Spock said, voice tight, but amused.

Jim bit his lip, grinning, "Okay."

"You two are disgusting," Bones grumbled.

"I think you already said that," Jim quipped, dragging himself across the floor until he reached the assortment of furniture standing against the only painted wall. He opened the white wardrobe, a small pile of baby clothes and a large heap of toys lying on the bottom.

Humming, he began to unpack the toys, putting together what was not yet assembled. For a few minutes, he worked in silence then got distracted by the baby's insistent kicking. Jim pulled the stretchy shirt up, exposing the perfectly smooth bump underneath. Bless Bones and his medical knowledge, that anti-stretch mark cream worked wonders. Not to mention that it smelled nice.

Baby Grayson-Kirk was rolling in his confinement, clearly disgruntled by the restrictions of Jim's womb. The round swell was alive with shifting bumps, small feet pressing up, tiny fists outlining themselves against the relatively thin skin. Jim touched his fingers to the impression of his son's foot, laughing when the baby's leg twitched in response. He cupped the bottom of his abdomen with his other hand, curling over the bump as much as he was able to, "Hey, little man, are you saying 'hello'? It's getting tight in there, hm? Silly baby, moving like that won't – _ow_ – hey, not so rough!"

Baby decided to respond by pushing his feet even harder against the inside of Jim's womb and contorting the skin further. The sound of socked feet padding across the floor made Jim look up. Spock knelt down beside him, face flecked with blue, right hand holding onto the paint roller.

"Heya," Jim grinned, "You done painting?"

"No," Spock kissed his cheek, left hand reaching out to touch Jim's abdomen, broad palm settling on the bumps, "I was merely curious what our son was doing that made you so excited."

"That sounds so dirty."

"Everythin' sounds dirty to you, Jimmy," Bones said from where he was stretching to paint the third beige stripe.

"That's not true," Jim frowned then grinned, "Okay, maybe it's true."

"Definitely true," Bones dunked the small roller back into the paint can, "I pity your child already. You're going to be the most embarrassing parent there is."

"And Spock?"

"Spock'll be just slightly less embarrassing. Mostly because he's too polite to pull stupid stunts and would never embarrass his kid in front of other people."

"I'd never do that," Jim gasped, affronted as he pressed a hand against his chest, "How can you even think that of me?"

"I remember a young boy who kept on telling everyone that Spock has a mole on the left ass cheek at the age of fifteen," Bones drawled, finishing up the next stripe, "I think by the end of the month, the entire city of Shi'kahr knew about that mole."

"Well, I happen to love that mole a lot."

"So much you needed to share it with an entire city," Bones nodded, "Yes, that makes sense. About as much as that cat in the sink."

"Her name's Oreo," Jim grumbled, patting his belly when the baby kicked him again, "And she makes a lot of sense."

"She sits in the sink, Jim. She has a bowl filled with water, why would she even consider drinking from the tab?" Bones turned around, wiping his hand over his forehead, "Just admit it, that cat is just as crazy as you two. That cat eats strawberry ice cream, Jim."

Jim grinned brightly, "So?"

Bones gave an exasperated groan.

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><p>Aaaand, that was it. I hope it isn't as bad as I think it is. And now; Next time on Spock Hunters: Why is Spock taking so long to get home? What are those freaky looking scissors for? And why the fuck are Jim's pants wet?<p> 


	12. Chapter 12: Our Secret World

Heya!

**Warning**: This is chapter contains a graphic (?) description of birth. If you puke easily or just get squicked, don't read it. Thank you!

Talltree-san: Uhm, no, Jim's not gonna produce milk. While my imagination is quite strange, I have not yet reached this side of the strange-things-river :)

Anyway... thank you all for sticking with the story and I apologise for taking so long to finish it :)

Edit: Alright, after reading this for the third time, I realise it might be an abrupt ending. So, please, for now it is the end. But there will be an epilogue, or even another chapter followed by an epilogue. But for now, I need to focus on my driver's license, so please, have patience :)

Enjoy!

[Oh, and I apologise for every typo you find and Jim's name was switched for Stiles or something else, I was watching Teen Wolf while writing this. Not one of my smartest moves, I know]

* * *

><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 12: our secret world

It had been raining ever since Spock had entered the embassy. Two hours ago, a storm warning had been announced and the rain had turned into a full-blown downpour. Barely a car was on the street and those that dared to defy the storm were stuck in front of the flickering traffic lights.

Spock had attempted to call Jim, but the comm. network must have broken down, as he was unable to reach his husband, even after trying nine times. The only thing that somewhat calmed his troubled thoughts was the fact that Leonard was with Jim. If something were to happen, Leonard would be able to help.

Spock nodded to himself, righting the stack of papers he had signed. Four more hours of signing documents regarding the newly democratic planet of Orion and then he would be free to return home. Sighing, he reached for his pen again, furrowing his brows when he experienced a slight discomfort in the general area of his abdomen. Dismissing the pain as one of those odd sensations one's brain induced due to a slight malfunctioning. It might have also been a transmission from Jim. Their child might have kicked a little harder than usual.

The next two hours passed in a slow drag and by the start of the third one, Spock was inclined to simply leave his work and go home. The pain in his abdomen had not lessened but gradually gotten worse, leaving him in constant discomfort and mildly frustrated.

After another bout of rather obnoxious stomach pains, Spock got to his feet to stretch his limbs. By now, he was not quite sure if the pain stemmed from his own body at all. Upon examining the bond in his head, he found it strained, pulsating with a variety of emotions and sensations, the mental connection into Jim's head closed tight for the moment, as if Jim was desperately holding it shut. Spock attempted to pry the shielding open, but found himself incapable of doing so. Strange.

A second later, the shield burst apart and he was swamped by another wave of pain, the sharp cramping bringing him to his knees in the middle of his office. Gasping for air, Spock curled forward, squeezing his eyes shut, failing to keep his composure. The pain itself was not excruciating, but the force with which it had hit him was still a shock.

He barely registered the door opening, before a high-pitched voice cursed using a few very creative Russian words and prompted Spock to lift his head. Pavel, the young intern from the filing room, stumbled towards him, kneeling down beside Spock, hands flitting through the air helplessly, "Mr. Grayson? Do… Vhat happened? Are you injured?"

Spock shook his head and cleared his throat, taking a slow, deep breath to gather himself, "No, Mr. Chekov, I… I believe something is wrong with my husband."

The young man blinked in confusion, then seemed to catch up on what Spock was implying, "Oh! I vill call Hika-, I mean, Mr. Sulu. He can drive you home!"

Spock wanted to protest, but the Russian was already out the door, shouting for Mr. Sulu. The reason why Pavel still insisted on calling his fiancé by his last name just because they worked in the same building was a mystery to Spock. Even he tended to refer to the man as 'Hikaru' from time to time. It was not as if no one was aware of their engagement.

Within 3.4 minutes, Mr. Sulu had arrived, Pavel clinging to his fiancé's shirt sleeve, "Mr. Grayson? Spock, Pavel said you needed a ride home?"

Spock suppressed a very human sigh as he was helped to his feet, "My husband appears to be in pain, but I am unable to reach him through our mental link. Due to the storm, I cannot call him either and I wish to make sure that everything is alright. Your help would be most appreciated, Hikaru. I do not believe I am capable of operating a vehicle at the moment, as Pavel might have explained to you already."

"Of course," the younger man offered him a lopsided smile and gestured towards the door.

They made their way through the almost empty building at a very slow pace, their progress hindered by Spock's need to stop every three to four minutes. Somehow they managed to reach the underground garage and Spock was bundled into the backseat of Sulu's car. The storm outside had worsened further and the only reason why they had a chance to get through the heavy rain was the fact that Sulu had a weakness for big automobiles. Truly, if Spock had not known that Terran cars were powered by a very efficient electricity system, he would have talked the man out of the tank he called a car.

It still took them almost two hours to reach their destination. Spock scrambled out of the car as soon as it came to a halt, thanking Hikaru and Pavel and telling them to get home safe as he stormed towards the front door, cold water soaking his clothes. He rang the doorbell, wincing at another sharp cramp and stumbled into the house when the door was yanked open by a frazzled looking Leonard.

"Spock!" the doctor yelped and Spock felt the man steady him, hands gripping his shoulders.

"Where's Jim?" Spock gasped out.

"Bedroom, he's fine, he went into labor about five hours ago-"

"What!"

"Shut up and listen, you overgrown elf! He's doing fine, but we can't leave the house because I don't want to risk a car accident happening in that weather and before the network broke down they said there's a high chance of it starting to hail. I have everything I need here, don't worry, alright?"

Spock stared at the doctor, "What do you mean 'everything you need'?"

"For the birth, goodness, Spock, is your brain damaged? You're usually a lot quicker! I packed the supplies for a homebirth weeks ago, because I _knew_ something was going to go wrong," Leonard lifted an eyebrow at Spock and reached out to shut the door behind them, "Now, why exactly are you here? We weren't able to call you and Jim said he couldn't access the bond properly to alert you to what was happening."

"He managed to access the bond just fine, Leonard. Not all the time, of course, but it appears that with what I now realize where contractions, he involuntarily opened the link between us and shared his discomfort with me," Spock answered.

Leonard snorted, then rolled his eyes when a loud, "_Oh my fucking fuck_!" rang out from upstairs and another sharp pain seared through Spock's abdominal muscles.

"I think we should go upstairs and give Your Highness another backrub," Leonard drawled and looped his arm around Spock's middle, dragging him with him up the suddenly too numerous steps, "I really hope we can fix that link malfunction you're having, I could use some help later on, you know?"

Spock gave a soft grunt in confirmation, even if he was not quite sure what he was agreeing to.

They reached the top of the stairs and stumbled on into the bedroom.

Jim was lying on his side within the nest Spock had built for him, a large amount of towels and a plastic sheet protecting the pillows and blankets for what was to come. He was mumbling to himself, wearing one of Spock's old shirts, too big around the shoulders and stretched tight across the bump of his stomach and all the while rubbing the lower curve of his abdomen. Leonard cleared his throat, "Your Highness, I have retrieved your husband from the front door."

"Spock?" Jim rolled over with a grunt, "Spock!"

Spock moved away from Leonard, clambering into the nest and cupping his husband's face between his palms, "Are you alright, Jim?"

"I'm f – _ow, ow, ow_ – ine," Jim gasped out and Spock grit his teeth alongside his husband's contractions, "Uh… uhm, why are… are you home? I thought you had a meeting later on?"

Spock leaned in close, tucking his nose into the hollow of Jim's throat, "The bond is… not responding in the usual way at the moment, but rather opens whenever you experience pain. I was unable to continue working and determined that something must be wrong with you. So I decided to come home again."

"Oh. Sorry about that," Jim muttered, rubbing his sleeve over his forehead to wipe away the pearls of sweat that had gathered there, "I'll… uhm, can you regulate it? I don't… I mean I could use some support, but that's gonna be difficult if you're in as much pain as I am. Right?"

"That's right," Leonard piped up, "It's no good if I have to take care of the both of you, really."

"Shut up, Bones."

Spock gave a tiny sigh, wincing alongside Jim at another muscle cramp, biting his lip while Jim breathed his way through it. Once the contraction had subsided, Spock eased his way into their mindscape, inspecting the valve-like contraption at the connective part of their bond. It had become brittle, battered by the constant surges of pain and Jim's inability to concentrate properly. After examining it a moment longer, Spock constructed a make-shift lock around the bond, shutting the pain transfer down the best he was able to. He would need to renew the lock in an hour or two; their link was too strong to allow it to hold much longer.

Spock opened his eyes to see Leonard puttering about, arranging his supplies, still in their respective, sterile cases, close by the nest. Jim was huffing through another contraction, "Did you – _ow_ – fix it?"

"Yes," Spock answered, rubbing his palm over the firm mound of Jim's stomach to ease the pain, "I apologize for not being here from the beginning, Jim."

"Be glad," Leonard chirped, "Jim spent the entire morning on the toilet cursing your existence."

Spock opened his mouth but was interrupted by Jim, "Don't even think about asking why. Don't. Even."

Leonard moved to kneel on the edge of the nest, "Legs apart, I have to check your progress. I know you've reached the stage of active labor, but since you've been refusing to let me check up until now, I have no idea how far along you are."

"I'm not going to let you check."

"Jim."

"Spock, he wants to stick his fingers in my ass!"

"It shouldn't be so terrifying to you, considering that the reason for your current predicament is the fact that Spock stuck something up your ass, Jimmy," Leonard pulled on a pair of gloves, dousing his right hand in some sort of lubricant.

"Maybe you should let somebody stick something up your ass, Bones, to dislodge that smug look on your face," Jim grumbled, tucking his face into the crook of Spock's neck, legs falling open, "Make it quick, this day has been embarrassing enough already."

Spock tilted his head away, burying his nose in Jim's hair just as Leonard ducked down under the large towel covering Jim's lap, a small flashlight in his hand. Jim's breathing hitched for a moment, the soft gasp turning into a groan as his stomach muscles constricted once again. A shift alerted Spock that Leonard had emerged from his spot and when he looked up, he found the man casually pulling off the slick glove on his right hand, "Everything looks fine, the birth canal is open and the rectum is completely shut. You're at seven and a half centimeters, which means you'll enter the transitional phase soon."

"The other doc said that's the worst," Jim groaned, flailing one arm through the air.

Leonard nodded, dropping the glove into the wastebasket by the wall, "Yep. It won't take too long, though. Probably."

"_Probably_?"

"Every pregnancy is different, Jim. Some people are in labor for three days, some for two hours."

"_Three days_!"

"You're too far along for it to take this long, Jimbo, shut up and calm down."

Three hours went and Jim's huffs became tiny whimpers of pain interspaced with soft grunts as the time between the contractions shortened. Leonard announced that Jim had reached the transitional phase and patted Jim's leg when the man bore down for a moment, "You're doing great, Jimmy. Don't exert yourself, alright?"

"Do I h-have to push?"

"No, Jimmy, not yet."

"Feels l-like I have to."

"You can bear down, just don't try to force- oh shit," Leonard surged forward, having grabbed the wastebasket on his way, just as Jim started to retch.

Spock was shocked, cradling Jim against his chest where the man was resting between his legs, "Leonard, what-?"

"Perfectly normal," Leonard answered, "It happens to a lot of people during this part of labor. Hey, Jimbo?"

Jim groaned, head dangling above the wastebasket.

"Do you want to change position? Would that feel better?"

"Dunno," Jim slurred, knees shifting and pulling up towards his abdomen, "Everythin' hurts."

"You're doing great, Jimbo," Leonard soothed, taking the wastebasket away and tilting a glass of cool water against Jim's chapped lips, letting him drink a few sips before speaking again, "How about we get you settled on your side and Spock can massage your back, hm?"

Jim nodded and let himself be shifted until he was curled up on his side, shivering and shaking as Spock moved to press his fingers to his husband's back, massaging the trembling muscles he found there.

Another 2.5 hours went by before Jim reached the ten centimeter mark and was able to rest for a brief moment, the contractions once again a little further apart. The power had cut out at one point, leaving them to light the room with candles and the star-shaped, battery driven lamps Jim had bought at one point. Spock was kneeling on the nest, Jim resting against him, mirroring Spock's position, both hands planted on Spock's shoulders while he rocked himself back and forth.

Keeping his eyes resolutely locked on the wall on the opposite of their nest, Spock continued to rub his palm over Jim's back, his other hand massaging the low curve of his husband's abdomen. The baby had dropped into Jim's pelvis an hour ago and Jim had been grumbling ever since then.

"Hey, Bones," he finally said, "Isn't my water supposed to break?"

"It doesn't always break on its own. It can actually be a lot less painful if it doesn't break since the water may act as a cushion," Leonard shrugged, "I can break it for you, if you want, though."

"Uh… no," Jim shook his head then panted through another contraction, "No, I'm good. No need to mess up the sheets even more and if it means this entire thing will be less painful, even better."

Spock glanced at the bloody flecks of pseudo-vaginal discharge. Once again he was immensely grateful that the transitional phase was over.

"Oh," Jim gasped, nails digging into Spock's shoulder blades as he shifted to widen his stance.

Willing himself to stay calm, externally and internally, Spock supported Jim when the younger man's spine dipped and he began to bear down, groaning as the contraction tapered off. Leonard had moved himself onto the bed, both hands already encased in gloves. A moment later, a soft 'clank' announced the return of the electricity and the digital chronometer came back on, announcing the time to them. Leonard chuckled, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about that anymore."

"Indeed."

Jim pushed again, keening as he went then relaxing once more. Swallowing thickly, Spock pressed his lips to Jim's damp temple, pouring as much soothing calm into the man as he could. Leonard continued to mutter encouragements, telling Jim to push whenever he felt the urge, to not stress himself. It was different from what Spock had been told by the television shows Jim had taken to watch. There were no loud shrieks, no insults and no frazzled nurses running about.

Apart from Jim's heavy breathing and the breathless groans, the atmosphere was rather tranquil, the heavy rain outside creating a constant background noise, broken by fading thunder claps.

"Spock?" Leonard spoke up, rattling Spock out of his musings, "Do you want to switch positions later on?"

"O-oh," Jim stammered out, the faint smirk on his lips a warning sign for the lewd comment that was about to come out of his mouth, "I didn't know you swung that way, Bones. But this is my husband you're-"

"Jim, I swear to God, if you weren't in labor and your bulging asshole wasn't in my face, I would throw you out of that window over there."

"Whoa, too much information, I didn't need to know the last part," Jim rushed out, before he had to bear down once again, speaking up when it was over, "C-can you see anything yet?"

"Not yet," Leonard answered, voice softening again, "It won't be long now, okay? You're doing very well, Jimbo. Now, Spock, do you want to be the one to catch the baby or do you think you're going to faint again?"

A giggle escaped Jim's mouth, causing him to forget to push for a moment and leaving him gasping for air. Spock peppered his husband's jaw with kisses, shifting to mumble a few words of love and adoration against the sweat-slicked skin of Jim's shoulder. He spoke up when Jim's tense muscles grew softer again, "I- I am not sure, Leonard. I do not think I will be capable of… I believe you should 'catch' the baby. I would not know what to do if there were complications."

"Alright," Leonard shrugged, smiling lopsidedly.

Jim chose that moment to release a low, pained groan as he pushed, muscles trembling with the strain. The groan turned into a high-pitched squeak and Leonard reached up with one hand to rub Jim's lower back, "Your water didn't break, Jimmy, so all I can see a sliver of the amniotic sac now. You're almost there, okay?"

Jim nodded then bit down on Spock's shoulder as another contraction swept him under. Spock winced, daring to glance down Jim's curved spine, feeling dizzy when he spied the milky sac bulging out of Jim. He shut his eyes quickly, turning his face to press it against the side of Jim's neck.

"Well done, Jimbo! Head's almost crowning- there we go! Can you stop pushing and start panting instead? Yeah? Good, you're doing so great, Jimbo," Spock dared to open his eyes and look down again just as Leonard began to speak once more, "Alright the head's out, the water's still intact though. Do you want me to break it, Jimbo?"

Jim shook his head then grunted as he bore down again. The sac inched out and Spock was able to glimpse the child nestled within, a dark patch of hair shining through the almost opaque membrane. A moment later, the sac burst, plastering itself to the baby's tiny body as Jim forced their son out and into Leonard's arms, "You did it, Jim! He's out!"

Jim slumped against Spock's front, gasping for air as he laughed, the sound watery and weak, "Ow, fuck, that was… Spock let me sit down, I want to- Bones-"

"A moment, a moment," the doctor muttered, rubbing their son dry and removing the membrane with a chuckle, "You know, it's said that a child being born with the amniotic sac intact will never drown and it's a sign of good fortune."

Spock moved his husband into a more comfortable position, eyes wide as Leonard settled the squirming child onto Jim's deflated stomach, the umbilical cord still connecting his husband and their child, "Good fortune indeed...he's beautiful, Spock."

Spock nodded, licking his upper lip and for the first time noticing the salty wetness of tears on his face, "Yes," he whispered, huffing out an overwhelmed laugh when the boy squawked, "We still need a name…"

"What?" Jim mumbled, "No, we don't. You said you liked Soryn. I think it fits. We'll name him that."

Spock felt his chest swell with warmth, somewhere beyond his line of sight he heard Leonard cut the umbilical cord, "Are you certain?"

Jim nodded tiredly, "Mhm. I am… I'm going to sleep now, alright?"

Spock nodded, cupping their son's, Soryn's, tiny face in his large palm. The rain continued to drum against the window pane, softer than before, lulling the tiny family into a gentle sleep.

**The actual idea was for Spock to cut the cord, but since Spock faints easily, I didn't want to risk him toppling over. My Dad actually fainted when they made him cut the cord and he had to get stitches since he hit his head on the bed's edge. **


	13. Chapter 13: Shaking It Up

Heya!

Okay, so here's another chapter. There will be a short epilogue, that will hopefully not take months to write.

I'm sorry for taking so long but... I finally have my driver's license! *yaiy*

Anyway, I hope this time I didn't accidentally put 'Stiles' or 'Derek' or something instead of the usual names. That would be embarrassing. I did read through it! But I'm bad at finding errors when I'm distracted. So, please, if you find any, tell me immediately, I'll try to fix them as soon as I can!

Talltree-san: Thanks! And uh, not an epilogue, but a chapter is okay, too, right? :)

Guest1: ...All 'buttholes' are elastic. You would not believe what people manage stick up there.

ShayLove: Thank you! I'm glad you're still reading my stories, I did miss your reviews! And goodness, am I glad I didn't make Bones too OOC. That would have been terrible.

Guest2: Here's an update!

Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Secret World<strong>

Chapter 13: shaking it up

Jim awoke to the sound of Bones' voice talking quietly. While he did not manage to decipher individual words, he was able to determine that the doctor's Southern drawl had become a tad more prominent, softening whatever he was saying into a low drone. Peeling his lids apart, Jim glanced at the chronometer above the door, humming softly. Six hours had passed since the birth of their child, which meant that his nap had turned into a three-hour-long coma.

Not surprising, considering that he had thrown an impressive tantrum upon being annoyed by another bout of smaller contractions. No one could blame his hormone-addled brain for not remembering that the placenta was supposed to come out, too.

Once that had been over and done with, Jim had started to doze, not even complaining when Spock carried him to the bathroom to clean him up. He could not remember much afterwards apart from the fact that Leonard had strapped a portable regenerator to his abdomen and then dressed Jim as if he was a toddler.

Turning his head, Jim gazed past Spock's sleeping form, curled up tight in the remaining space of their nest, which had been rid of the bloodied towels and the plastic sheet. Leonard was sitting beside the nest, propped up by pillows, a blanket over his legs and Soryn in his arms. The man was talking to the baby in hushed tones, the small boy staring up at Bones with wide, blue eyes as he suckled on the bottle that was being given to him.

"'ey, Bo's," Jim slurred, taking care to speak quietly as to not wake Spock.

The Vulcan-hybrid might not have been the one to give birth, but Jim did not want to imagine what it must have been like to watch the labor progress without being able to help or at least ease the pain.

Bones looked up, smiling lopsidedly, "Mornin'. You doin' alright?"

Jim nodded, wincing when he shifted just slightly, "Still sore, though."

"That's about the only thing those regenerators can't get rid of," Bones' shoulders twitched upwards in an approximation of a shrug, mindful of the nursing infant resting against him, "There's a bottle of water behind you. You need to drink something."

Jim grumbled and twisted as much as he could, arm flailing until he was able to grab onto the bottle. Dragging it into the nest, he uncapped it and took a long sip. He had not realized how thirsty he had been until now. After having reduced the bottle's content considerably, Jim lowered the bottle and spoke up, "Did you write down Soryn's weight and all that?"

"Of course I did, you idiot. He was born on November the fifth, weighs 6.8 pounds, is around twenty inches from his tiny adorable toes to his fuzzy head, and officially entered the world at two forty-seven in the morning. The exact measurements are written down and I already filled out a birth certificate for your little bundle of joy," Bones stroked his fingertip over Soryn's cheek, gently dislodging the nipple from the baby boy's pink mouth.

Jim watched in rapt fascination as the doctor flipped a cloth over his right shoulder and lifted Soryn up, cupping the baby's head as he patted his back. For a minute, nothing happened in the relative silence that had gathered within the room. Jim was about to open his mouth, when Soryn released a rather impressive, squeaky burp that caused Spock to startle awake with a snort.

Jim laughed at his husband's confused face, "Hey, there, Spock."

Spock raised a hand to rub at his eyes, "Jim."

"Leonard and Soryn," Bones piped up, "Now that we have introduced ourselves once again, I have a dozing baby in my arms and I really need to get up and take a leak."

"Did you just do a Timon impression?"

"Did I what?"

"Nevermind," Jim held out his arms, "Give me my baby boy, you can go pee."

"Wow, already using smaller words, huh, Mommy?" Bones handed Soryn over with care, brushing his palm over the fuzzy tufts of black hair covering the child's head, before he stood and left the room.

Jim pouted as he settled against the side of the nest, cradling Soryn in his arms as the baby blinked at him with his big, round eyes. A smile quickly took over Jim's face and he reached up to trace the ridge of Soryn's tiny, pointy ear. A soft flush tinged the baby's face a healthy mint green. His eyes were a bright blue and Bones had issued a tentative guess that they might stay that way.

Soryn had been dressed in a bright yellow onesie, the picture of a turtle taking over the front of the garment. Bones had pulled a pair of additional socks over Soryn's feet, for which Jim was particularly grateful. He did not want his son to get cold and possibly sick because of it.

Spock planted his head onto Jim's shoulder, long fingers touching their son's smooth cheek. Soryn turned his head a tiny bit, mouth opening to reveal greenish gums and a tiny, forest green tongue. Jim cooed when Soryn began to whine and squawk, waving his short arms through the air, "He's so small, look at his stubby arms, Spock."

"I can see them, Jim," Spock muttered, touching Soryn's upturned nose.

The baby scrunched up his face in response, gurgling with roaming eyes, bright with curiosity.

They marveled at the tiny miracle they had created for a long while, until Bones finally returned and held up his communicator, "Your Mom has no shame, Spock, calling someone while on the toilet, honestly."

Jim looked up from where he had been staring at Soryn's adorable little hands, "Why do you take your communicator with you when you're on the toilet, Bones…?"

Bones rolled his eyes, "It's been half an hour since I went to the toilet, Jim. Amanda called to ask about whether or not everything is alright, since she couldn't reach your comm. unit yesterday. I told her everything was alright and that you'd be introducing her to someone soon."

Jim grinned, "What did she say?"

The doctor huffed out a fond sigh, "She says to tell you that she's glad everyone's okay, but that she'll have to make sure of that herself. Sarek and Amanda will be coming to Earth as soon as possible."

"And knowing Amanda, 'as soon as possible' has a maximum of eight hours," Jim snickered as he rolled his eyes, moving his arms to hitch Soryn up a tiny bit to allow the baby's cheek to rest against his chest more comfortably, "Alright, then, let's try to straighten up the house a little and maybe make ourselves look a little more presentable. I probably look like a train wreck."

"Yeah," Bones drawled, "But a cute one. Spock, help your husband out of that thing you call a nest and get dressed in proper clothes. I'll try to cook something that won't irritate Sarek's delicate palate."

"…Irritate Sarek's delicate palate," Jim snickered, "Say that three times in a row."

"Shut up, Jim, and get dressed."

Jim drew a face as the doctor left the room once again, leaving them with their babbling baby. They rested for a moment longer, watching the boy in Jim's arms loll his head from side to side, whining and humming as Soryn's eyes roamed around the room, clearly confused by his surroundings. A soft laugh escaped Jim's lips when the baby knocked his tiny fist against Jim's nose, "Someone's active, huh?"

"It seems that Leonard's worst fear has become reality. Our son will be just as troublesome as you were," Spock said, allowing his son to wrap his hand around Spock's index finger.

It took them almost half an hour before they managed to heave themselves out of the nest and get dressed. And another five minutes to figure out how to change Soryn's diaper. Needless to say, Soryn was not amused and Bones was laughing hysterically by the time they arrived downstairs. The doctor had somehow managed to create a dish made up of roasted vegetables, potato gratin with rennet-free mozzarella and a delicious looking sauce. Jim was rather impressed, considering that Bones had vehemently denied being able to cook.

Upon being asked about it, Bones had gestured to Jim's cook book lying on the counter. It was more of a folder containing Jim's recipes and Bones had used it to ensure that he would not mess anything up. Still, Jim applauded the man for managing everything perfectly and not blowing up the kitchen.

They ate and stowed the large amount that remained in special containers that would keep the food from cooling out and losing its consistency. Jim immediately returned to the carrier they had placed Soryn in, lifting the dozing baby out and against his chest to coo at his son. He was still fascinated by the fact that he had created this tiny being, a new human. The thought was insane.

Another hour went by and Bones announced that he needed to get back to his apartment and take a long nap. He certainly deserved one.

"Alright, I put the formula in the cupboard above the sink on the right side," Bones tied his shoes quickly and reached for his car keys, "Dribble some of it on the inside of your wrist to see if it's too hot, or maybe take a sip, whatever you're comfortable with. Spock should already know all that, but you know what Spock's like when it comes to making food, right, Jimmy?"

Jim laughed, taking Soryn's hand to wave at Bones, "See you soon, Bones. Take care, alright? It's still raining."

"Will do, Jimbo. Have fun and I hope Amanda will let you spent a few more hours alone with your baby boy," Bones leaned forward and kissed Jim's cheek, then stroked Soryn's cheek and finally patted Spock's shoulder, before leaving the house to rush through the pouring rain to his car.

They watched the doctor leave then closed the front door and retreated to the living room.

For a while, all they did was stare at their little miracle, watching him squeak and squawk whenever they had to shift him around a tiny bit.

"Oh, we should call Sam," Jim gestured towards his communicator, "Come on, he's gonna be so angry if I don't tell him soon!"

"Do not be ridiculous, Jim," Spock reached for the communicator anyway and held it out to his husband, the gadget already beeping as the call went out.

"_Hello, Samuel Kirk speaking?_"

"Hey, Sam!"

"_Jim! Hey, you doing okay? The storm last night was pretty harsh, is everything alright over there?_"

"We're all good. But guess who decided to join the party early?"

"…_Seriously? You- what did you name him? Is he healthy? Did you get to the hospital okay?_"

"Yes, seriously. We named him Soryn and he's perfectly fine. As for the hospital… uh, no, Bones kind of had to deliver him in the bedroom."

Sam's laughter echoed out of the communicator and was soon joined by Aurelan's, "_Only you, Jimmy. Only you. You're lucky your best friend's a doctor, honestly. This is ridiculous. We'll come over in a few days to meet your little guy, okay? We're gonna give you some time to get used to him, you'll need it, believe me. Having a kid is awesome, but it's hard work._"

"Yeah, I noticed," Jim groaned, cooing at Soryn when the baby gave another squeak, "I'll think twice about having another one. My night was everything but fun."

"_Ugh, Jim, I really don't want to hear about it. Peter's birth was scary eno- ow! Aurelan, why?_"

"_Because you're an idiot. Jimmy, your brother fainted and knocked himself out on an unused heart monitor about halfway through. He missed the gory parts entirely._"

Jim started to laugh, calming himself when Soryn started to squirm, "Goodness, that's awesome. Spock didn't faint, luckily. I might have murdered him afterwards if he had."

"_No, you wouldn't have. I thought about it, but once Peter was there and Sam woke up… I was too happy to consider murdering Sam for fainting on me,_" Aurelan sounded a little exasperated, but her voice carried a fond lilt.

"I guess that's true," Jim sighed, smiling down at Soryn, "Oh, Spock's parents will be over sometime today. They'll probably stay a while, so you might get to meet them. Be prepared though, Spock's Dad is a textbook example of a Vulcan."

"_I'm sure we can handle that. If not, Peter might be able to break the ice,_" Sam responded, then huffed out a long suffering sigh, "_Alright you three, have fun, Peter just upended his play-do cans and they landed on the carpet. Talk to you later!_"

"Bye, Sam!" the call was dropped and Jim held the communicator out to Spock, "Looks like we're in for an adventure, Spock."

Spock lifted an eyebrow and placed the device back onto the coffee table, "I was of the opinion that the adventure had started when we decided to become bondmates, Jim."

"Oh, ha-ha, Spock," Jim dug his index finger into the Vulcan-hybrid's side, wiggling it a tiny bit, causing Spock to squirm ever so slightly, "How about we go and get Soryn settled in his room? He should know where he's going to sleep, right?"

Nodding, Spock rose from the couch and helped Jim to his feet. Together, they made their way back up the stairs and into the nursery. Jim turned on the lamp by the side of the crib, not particularly enjoying the dim light spilling in through the window. Golden light illuminated a small space of the room, making it look warmer in an instant. Jim bit his lip and lowered Soryn into the crib, brushing his palm over the boy's fuzzy hair.

Soryn gazed up at him, eyes drooping after a while before sliding shut. The baby breathed out a soft sigh and stopped flailing his short arms about a moment later.

Spock moved to lean over the crib, activating the baby monitor clasped to one of the bars and shifted to press his mouth against Jim's ear, "Do you wish to leave?"

Jim nodded, grabbing the second baby monitor in the same motion, "Yeah, let's go, he needs his sleep."

Quietly, they left the nursery, pulling the door halfway closed and scurrying back down the stairs. Jim flopped down onto the couch, groaning as he planted his feet on the coffee table, "I don't know if I want to sleep some more or kiss you for the duration of Soryn's nap."

Spock sat down beside him, "That does sound like a serious dilemma."

Jim grumbled and tucked his head against his husband's chest, prompting Spock to loop an arm around Jim's shoulders and pull him against his side, "I think sleep is something I need, but making out like teenagers is pretty tempting, too."

"I do not believe you are in the condition for any sexual endeavors you might wish to pursue, Jim," Spock pressed a kiss to Jim's temple.

"Ugh," Jim grunted, "Fine. More sleep it is."

Albeit he had not intended to actually do so, he dozed off about ten minutes later, waking to the sound of Spock speaking, "Mother, please-"

"I missed you two so much!" Amanda exclaimed and Jim opened his eyes to see her squeezing Spock as hard as she could, while Sarek tilted his head up a tiny bit, eyes rolling to glance at the ceiling in the Vulcan approximation of a fond eye roll, "It was terribly quiet without you and Sarek's been on so many meetings the past three weeks-"

"Mother, Jim is sleeping, please, he-"

"'m awake!" Jim called out, scrambling to get up and off the couch and managing to get his leg caught on the coffee table, sending him face first into the carpet, "Ouch."

"Jim!" Spock was at his side within a second, lifting him up and to his feet, "Are you alright? Have you injured yourself?"

"No, I'm okay," Jim laughed, face blazing red with embarrassment, "Perfectly fine."

Amanda shuffled closer and tugged him into a tight embrace, pulling away to cup his face between her hands to scrutinize him, "You look so tired… oh, we should have waited a few days before coming over, I'm so sorry, Jim, you probably wanted to have more time to get used to everything."

She looked so crestfallen that Jim immediately began to shake his head, "No, no! I… I think it's great that you're here now, Manda. There's a lot of stuff I don't know about taking care of a baby. Bones is a big help, but he can't be here all the time either."

Amanda laughed, "Okay, okay. I get it. Now, where is your little one?"

"Upstairs, sleeping," Jim answered, gesturing towards the staircase, "If you're quiet, we can go and have a look."

Spock's mother nodded and latched onto Jim's sleeve, dragging them towards the first step. They ascended the stairs at glacial pace, careful to avoid any sort of squeaking and creaking that might occur. It took them almost five minutes to reach the top of the stairs and Jim was certain, if Sarek would allow himself to do so, the Vulcan would be laughing his ass off at their ridiculous behavior.

Upon reaching the nursery, they were surprised by Soryn's quiet gurgling, indicating that the baby had been awake for a little bit at least. Jim moved over to the crib, smiling down at his son, "Hey there, sweetheart," he whispered and reached down to lift Soryn out and against his chest, cupping the back of the baby's head with a careful hand, "Look who's here to meet you, Soryn. It's your grandma and your grandpa."

Soryn gave a tiny squeak and started to mouth at Jim's shirt, eyes trained on the fabric in front of him. Amanda chuckled, kissing Soryn's hair and holding out her hands, "Can I hold him?"

"Sure?" Jim bit his lip and dislodged his shirt from Soryn's mouth, cooing when the baby whined at being deprived of his new chew toy.

He then placed Soryn into Amanda's arms, watching as she expertly shifted the baby to rest against her breast, tiny head cradled in the bend of her elbow, "Oh, he's beautiful, Jim. And he has your eyes!"

"Yeah," Jim laughed, leaning into Spock when his husband stepped behind him to wrap his arms around his waist, "He's perfect."

Sarek, who had been standing in the doorway until now, moved closer, peering over his wife's shoulder to look at his grandson. Soryn scrunched up his face and squawked, arms waving clumsily through the air. Something in Sarek's eyes softened and the Vulcan reached out to brush the tip of Soryn's tiny ear. The baby stopped squirming and Jim had a suspicion that Sarek was using his touch telepathy to calm Soryn down a tiny bit. He did not ask, however, Spock had mentioned that telepathic contact between parents and child was something that was encouraged in Vulcan culture, because it ensured the baby's mental health.

Amanda decided that it was Sarek's turn to hold Soryn and shifted, planting the baby into her husband's arms, who looked a tad overwhelmed.

Jim bit his lip to keep from guffawing at the way Sarek's eyebrows rose towards his hairline, creating a hilariously shocked expression upon the Vulcan's face. Behind him, he could feel Spock's chest vibrating with suppressed laughter, "Don't worry, Sarek, he won't bite, I promise."

Sarek glanced up, shooting him an unimpressed look that made Jim realize just how alike Spock and his father were in certain situations. It took another moment before Sarek's shoulders relaxed and he moved his arms into a more comfortable position to cradle Soryn in. A second later, the baby was once again asleep, sucking at the edge of Sarek's expensive pullover.

Jim felt his chest tighten and his eyes might have been a little wetter than usual. He was happy.

And life… life was perfect.

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><p>Cheesy ending, I know. And I don't care~<p> 


	14. Chapter 14: Epilogue

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this up. I forgot about it, to be honest.

This thing is only in existence because somebody told me about their aunt doing this to her husband... so yeah. I was inspired and decided, hey, why not?

Anywayyy... I also have a new story up, it's called Encoded, just in case anyone gives a damn.

Sorry for any mistakes and whatnot!

Enjoy! :)

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><p>Secret World<p>

Epilogue:

Spock slid out of his car with a quiet sigh. He had had a long day at the embassy and was happy to return home. The sun was already setting and the fluorescent flowers in their small front garden were glowing in the dimming light. Locking the car, Spock moved on towards the front door, unlocking it and stepping inside, "Jim? Soryn? I am home."

A loud screech followed by the sound of clumsy feet slapping against the parquet greeted him and he knelt down to catch his almost three year old son in his arms.

Soryn squeaked and began to tell him about his day, undeterred in his quest to inform Spock about everything that had happened in his absence even when Spock stood up again. He carried the boy into the kitchen, kissing his husband's cheek in greeting.

Jim turned around, smiling as he stood on his tiptoes to capture Spock's lips in a gentle kiss. Soryn began to whine at being ignored, demanding a kiss himself. Laughing, Jim proceeded to pepper their son's face with loud, obnoxious kisses, causing the boy to shriek with laughter, "You want kissies? Kissies you will get, you little twerp!"

"No, no, Momma!" Soryn giggled, hands flailing through the air as he attempted to hold Jim off.

It had taken Jim a little while to accept that Soryn would forever call him 'Momma' ever since Leonard had babysat the boy and taught him his first word. That word had been 'Momma' and it had been promptly attached to Jim's person. Jim had not spoken to Leonard for three days, before calling the man and thanking him for getting Soryn to actually speak aloud. Soryn had been using his telepathy to communicate and had resisted every attempt to get him to utter anything but squeaks and squawks until then.

And by now, Jim was actually very fond of being called 'Momma'.

"Welcome home," Jim finally said when Soryn had stopped screaming and settled against Spock.

"I apologize," Spock responded, voice growing quieter, "The meeting took longer than anticipated. I should have called."

"It's okay," Jim whispered, smiling.

"I want juice!" Soryn exclaimed, shattering the silence as he smiled brightly at his parents.

Jim laughed, shaking his head at their son, "Alright, alright. Let's get you some juice and then you're going to bed, you little elf."

"Yes, Momma."

Spock used the time he was given to divest himself of his shoes and hanging up the robe he had worn to protect himself from the harsh Vulcan sun earlier in the day. Once this was done, he directed his attention back towards Jim and their son, who had dozed off before finishing the juice in his sippy cup. Jim plucked the cup out of Soryn's hands and set it down onto the kitchen counter, gesturing towards the stairs, "I'll go and tuck him in. Are you coming with me?"

"Of course," Spock responded.

They made their way upstairs and into Soryn's room quietly as to not wake their child.

Spock watched as Jim settled the boy down onto his bed and covered him with the soft blanket, tucking it in around Soryn's small body. Soryn whined and for a second, Spock feared they had woken him. But the little boy merely turned onto his side, curled up and tucked his thumb into his mouth. They would need to break him out of that habit sooner or later.

With another kiss to their son's forehead, Jim shuffled away and moved to loop his arms around Spock's neck, "Hey."

"Hello," Spock met Jim's lips halfway, hands coming to rest on his husband's hips.

They continued to kiss for a few minutes, breaking apart when Jim shifted away, "I have to finish dinner. You're probably hungry."

Spock nodded, following Jim down into the kitchen to watch his husband stir the thick, creamy soup bubbling in the large pot on the stove. Jim hummed softly to himself, swaying to whatever strange Terran song that was stuck in his head this time. Confused by the over abundance of happiness spilling from Jim's side of the bond, Spock leaned over to look at his husband's face.

A soft smile curled the man's lips, his eyes shone with a gentle fondness and there was something about him that made Spock wish to ask what was going on.

Finally, Jim turned away from the stove and gestured for Spock to take a step back, "What's going on with you, huh? You're all up in my personal space," he laughed, "Did you miss me that much?"

"Of course I did, Jim. However, I do feel like you are keeping something from me."

"Really?" Jim lifted his eyebrows in an exaggerated display of surprise, "Why ever would I do that?"

"I do not know, Jim," Spock responded, crossing his arms in front of his chest, a smile quirking up the corner of his mouth, "You do a lot of things that I still do not understand."

Jim grinned, "Maybe I'll tell you after dinner."

Spock sighed, but accepted his husband's response. Jim turned off the stove and ladled the soup into two bowls before carrying both over to the dinner table.

They ate in relative silence, seeing as their son was asleep upstairs. Jim kept nudging him through the bond, a little more enthusiastic than usual and Spock could not resist returning the poking. Upon finishing their late dinner, Spock stood and moved the bowls off the table, rinsing them out in the sink and finally placing them in the dishwasher alongside their spoons.

Jim had risen from his seat and walked over to the large window which allowed them to gaze into the large, back garden of their home. Spock furrowed his brows and made his way over, touching his husband's arm, "Are you alright, Jim?"

His husband turned, smiling at him, "Of course I am. I told you that already, Spock. Don't worry so much."

"Jim, please, what are you not telling me?"

Jim huffed and gestured for Spock to move a few steps away, "Okay, just sit down over there. I don't want anything to happen to your head or something."

"What-?"

"Ssh!" Jim flapped his hand through the air, "Okay. Ready?"

Spock nodded and sat down on one of the chairs close by the window. He lifted his eyebrow when Jim tugged the hem of his shirt upwards. Of all the things he would have expected for Jim to do, stripping his clothes had not been one of them. Jim stopped pulling at his shirt about halfway to his ribs, exposing the lower portion of his stomach. Spock moved his eyes down to his husband's bare skin.

The words _Guess what, Daddy!_ were written on Jim's smooth abdomen.

It took almost ten second before Spock's brain was able to analyze the situation and understand what Jim was trying to tell him, "Jim… Jim are you-? Are you-?"

Jim nodded, a bright grin splitting his face, "Yes. Yes, I am."

Spock jumped to his feet and dashed forward, wrapping his arms around Jim and lifting him up into a tight embrace, unable to express his joy verbally. Jim laughed and laughed until Soryn came stumbling down the stairs and demanded to know what was so funny.

Spock buried his face in his husband's shoulder and smiled.

_The End_

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><p>And that's it! Thanks for reading! You guys are the best!<p> 


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